MC Paul Barman “People Hate Warnings. They Love Dystopias.”

The acclaimed Hip-Hop lyricist, MC Paul Barman, has recently released a new album, “Tectonic Texts” – an “Earth-shattering, ground-breaking” LP where the comparison to the movement of our planet’s tectonic plates is both symbolic and quite literal. With a reference to the catastrophic consequence of that process where the plates “move mountains and valleys, cause floods and fires”, the music production made by Glen Brady took an understandably “dystopian” turn.

Creating an instrumental backdrop to match Paul’s texts, the pair weave a complex tapestry of analog and digital soundscapes, backed by booming, classic hip-hop rhythms. The result? An impressive blend of thought-provoking concepts, thrilling word plays, all plunged in a sense of an “Earth-shattering”, pre-end-of-the-world warning, last-minute wake-up call which, as usual, many might miss.

I have invited MC Paul Barman to an email interview to discuss his new LP and here’s the record of how far we went, in a slightly tectonic manner, dissecting some of the lyrics, and breaking down some of the beats.

Bartek: What would you say distinguishes “Tectonic Texts” from your previous albums? 

MC Paul Barman: Actually, I’m not sure it’s for me to say. I can tell you that I am always searching for new subject matter and this experiment took me a few different directions, including an attempt to steer myself and others back to our physical senses.

“Psychosynthesis”, from the opening track, “Pearl of Light”, sounds like a concept straight from Isaac Asimov’s sci-fi books. Are you a fan?

Asimov is a little bit before my era and science fiction evolved a lot after that… I am a tremendous fan of Ursula K. Le Guin, who I put on the short list of artists who only got better over their lifetime. I’m a big fan of Paolo Bacigalupi‘s “Drowned Cities” trilogy, and I have an obsession with “Lord of Light” by Rogers Zelazney. That said, I was really trying to exhibit legitimate if arcane science… I looked up “photosynthesis” after “Pearl of Light” was recorded, and it looks like I’m not the first to say it, but it was too late to alter.

Could you explain the thought behind “psychosysthesis”?

The thought behind it came from my discovery that biophotons exist and can be formed in the brain. We are so good at transferring so many other forms of energy and information that I endeavored to use music, the most invisible and easily broadcast artform, to put my biophoton in your head with as little compression as possible. According to this hypothesis, I had already felt this many times with the successful transmission of biophotons from, say, “Dancing in Your Head” by Ornette Coleman or “Things in Life” by Dennis Brown.

Initially this song was conceived as an answer song to “Angel of Death” by Slayer. “Angel of Life” became “Angel of Light” became “Pearl of Light.” All this coincided with going deeper into the science and I needed some journal articles I didn’t have access to, so a scientist friend hooked me up.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I should even use the first two thirds of this lyric because I think it’s important to say things as simply as possible, as I do at the very end. But at the same time, I was experimenting with a super-conversational style where I’m not trying to hit the snares in the same way as when I first started. So, what you’re hearing is a single first take, albeit after a bunch of demoing, and when that happens, you kind of just can’t argue with it. I’m really proud of this track, thank you for asking me about it.

I found your lyrics very philosophical (that’s a compliment!). It, quite honestly, sounds very refreshing in today’s hip hop landscape. How do you feel about this current landscape and are your texts any form of a rebellion against it?

Why would anyone take ‘philosophical’ as an insult? I intended to imbue every syllable with that feeling. I always aim to be ahead of things and rebelliousness would apply to a lot more than the current state of music. Sometimes when people complain that hip-hop sounds too angry, I question if they are angry enough.

In “Are I Peewee” you talk about the fact that your heroes started dying. Who was the last one to die and how did their life influence yours?

Well, I’ve been listening to Roy Ayers’s tribute mixes nonstop for the past few weeks, but it’s a little different when someone dies who was actually part of your pre-puberty formation… And it’s devastating when someone like DJ Spinbad dies so young.

I’m not sure if this answers the question but by far the greatest way to pay tribute to a beloved artist is to absorb their work, synthesize it, and make something… Right now, I anticipate more deaths of elderly heroes who will die during difficult times when we need them and their memories most… I really said all I could say in the song, including the conversation I had at the Music Inn when Ornette Coleman died and proprietor, Jeff, said, “I don’t hold onto people.”

My newest hero is Benjamin Lay. I only just learned of him and he died hundreds of years ago. I’m so excited to learn more history and spread the word of heroes we should all know about. On the other hand, one of my heroes, Brian Eno, refutes the idea of heroes entirely and attributes great works to ‘scenius,’ the scene the supported the brilliance. Hiphop is my hero. So is comedy and folk music. And especially jazz. Thank you, artists.

How did you go about sound ideas for this album along with your producer, Glen? Was there any specific concept behind the musical choices?

There was a whole lot of demoing and back-and-forth. I had to let go of some of my plans so that we could meld and adapt and make new ones.

Sometimes he would make a beat that matched a sentiment I asked for. But then I had to figure out how to add dynamics so it wasn’t matchy-matchy. For example, I had these rousing lyrics to something initially called “Proud of You.” And he sent me the beat that became “Abs.” Sounding encouraging over such a bouncy beat didn’t feel right. A lot of MCs put sad lyrics over sad beats. But the fascinating feeling comes from the relationship between the words and the music. Or at least the inspired feeling as you open your mouth. My head hit the pillow that night like, “How can I solve this?”. I knew I loved his chorus and that I was going to keep it. Suddenly I remembered a text thread with a close friend where I was rhyming about abs and my friend didn’t think it was funny. She thought I was serious. She was right. I made a quick demo to see if the words fit. Wow, they did. A few adjustments and a great time in the studio with Glen. I moved many of the “Proud of You” lyrics on “Killinagame” instead where they could sound deadpan serious.

“Concentrate”, your second single, sounds incredibly sad, almost completely lonely, desolate, abandoned or even burned out, tired of repeating the same message over and over again. Is this how you feel about the current state of the world, disappointed? And, is there any hope?

Well, let’s see. I think the writing has quite a lot of hope in it although the delivery is in a chiller tone than is typical of me. This tone, I would say, is among the bigger departures of the album in general.

With this song in particular, I tried a more aggressive delivery and it didn’t work. This music brought out a sad side of what, believe it or not, I consider could work as stand-up, the best of which has a powerful undercurrent of bleakness, so why not believe it?

I don’t hear a lot of descriptions about the double life that so many people are living. Feeling the horror versus maintaining what it takes to get through the day.

As for my predictions for the future, I have been making grand pronouncements for decades, and yesterday’s teabag tag said:

“One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning.” — James Russell

People hate warnings. They love dystopias but those are now blueprints. So, we need to fight to help people experience good feelings.

I guess this would be the best moment to explain the roots and intentions behind the album’s title, “Tectonic Texts”?

What do you think it means!

To me it’s fun to say.

And it’s a baller title that applies to all of my texts: earth shattering.

“Blessings” is a sort of a “bright light” among the rest of the songs on the album. What is the story behind the creation of this song?

I first demoed it to an Anna Meredith track as a long screed of specific wishes for my kids, which I also see as dream assignments for ourselves. I went through a few choruses and beats.

I wrote it in a very different time, or was it? When I come back to this track, I shake my head and think, it’s a good thing there’s a place where the positive imaginings can be organized.

I admire the dads who do the forehead to forehead prayer every Friday. This is my way of doing it for everyone.

The last song sounds like a 7-minute-long recording of a stream of consciousness, an impressive grand finale. It feels as though, through its sudden end, there are no lessons or easy answers here. Surely intentional, what was the message behind this particular track and its final position on the album?

It’s the last track because I don’t really expect anyone to listen to such a long song, thank you for doing so! Those lyrics were written on one long walk on a beautiful spring day, basically the thoughts as they occurred to me. It ends on a brag note which I’m usually reluctant to do. The final line is “gold, dude.” I think that’s a suitable couple words to end on.

Finally, what are your promotional plans for this album, a tour or any concerts coming up that I could link up at the end of the article?

Thanks so much for asking, we’re working on a couple videos and a special activation—more soon.

Photos: Press release.

More info: https://www.instagram.com/mcpaulbarman & https://www.instagram.com/glenbrady_eire

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