Paul Roland
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Paul Roland (born 1959 in Kent, England), ‘England’s psych-pop guru’, must surely qualify as unique amongst cult independent recording artists. Not only is his quintessentially English music alive with 19th century literary references and characters that would not be out of place in the pages of writers as Edgar Allan Poe, Peake, Charles Dickens, H.G. Wells or H.P. Lovecraft, but he is also a serious literary figure in his own right. His preoccupation with the supernatural takes an often whimsical slant in his lyrics. The fanciful and macabre subject matter of Roland’s songs and the baroque styled instrumentation he favours are no doubt partly the reason why he has not achieved the popularity of his contemporaries such as Robyn Hitchcock (who called Roland ‘the male Kate Bush’), but his distinctive style has ensured a loyal cult following in Europe if not in England.
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[edit] Biography
Paul Roland was born in England in September 1959. Roland’s father was a writer of short stories and TV comedy scripts and his mother an actress.
Since the release of his first (shared) single Oscar Automobile in 1979 Roland has been spinning his bizarre tales against an evocative backdrop of gothic rock, psych-pop, folk and, occasionally, baroque strings. His most memorable character creations include a crotchety Regency magistrate, various 19th Century murderers, a retired executioner, an opium addict, and an entire court of medieval grotesques.
[edit] Music
Roland’s first album The Werewolf of London (1980), which boasted a penchant for historical and supernatural themes was picked up by Armageddon Records in the UK, who at the time also had the Soft Boys on their roster. And it was there that Paul met Robyn Hitchcock who later appeared on tracks for Paul’s second album. After an abortive flirtation with the music business, when he was managed by David Enthoven (manager of Roxy Music) and June Bolan (widow of Marc Bolan), Roland returned to Armageddon Records for the mini-album Burnt Orchids (1985). Its title track was the first to feature Paul backed by a small string and woodwind ensemble, a trademark of many of his albums of the 80-ies and 90-ies.
The success of the album led to Paul's first tours in Europe, label deals in France (New Rose Records), Germany (Pastell ), Greece (DiDi Music), Italy (Diva Records), the USA (Revolver) and Japan (Century Records) and offers to work with film composer Michael Nyman and members of the Velvet Underground. Other cult figures such as Robyn Hitchcock, Nick Saloman (a.k.a. The Bevis Frond), Nick Nicely, and Andy Ellison (of John's Children) made guest appearances on Paul’s subsequent albums, several of which are now listed as highly collectable including the psych cult classic Danse Macabre (1987), the acoustic based mini-albums ‘A Cabinet Of Curiosities' (1987) and ‘Happy Families’ (1988) with stories of eccentric characters that might have been written by H.G. Wells, M.R. James and Jules Verne is set to music that invites comparison with the best early work of Al Stewart, Marc Bolan and Syd Barrett, the rockier Duel (1989) with its medieval-tinged three-song suite ‘The King Must Die’ and the folk rock outing Masque (1990), Roaring Boys (1991), a mini-album of cover versions entitled Strychnine (1992), Sarabande (1994) and Gargoyles (1997) which completed the first chapter of the Roland discography.
Then Paul took a seven year break from music in 1997 to raise his two young sons and write a series of books on mysticism and true crime for major publishers.
In 2002 fans persuaded Roland to return with an appearance at the Herbstnächte-Festival in Berlin in September of that year. After that a series of ‘subtle but significantly improved’ re-issues appeared, beginning with Duel which was released by Haunted Forest Records in Greece (2002).
Then in 2004 Roland returned with his first new album in seven years, the largely acoustic Pavane, which was released on Roland’s own (revamped) label Gaslight Records (http://www.gaslightrecords.de). The album provided a further glimpse into a unique and imaginative mind including a brief baroque instrumental piece that he had discussed recording with film composer Michael Nyman many years earlier. This album was re-issued by Black Widow Records in Italy in 2006 (http://www.blackwidow.it).
In June 2007 Roland released his fist new rock album for many years Re-Animator, which features musicians who have recorded with Caravan, Jimi Hendrix, Steve Hillage and many great musicians of the 1960s Canterbury music scene. This album was released by Black Widow Records in Italy and re-issued as an expanded edition by Syborgmusic in Germany.
In 2008 Roland’s new album Nevermore will be released on Syborgmusic in Germany (http://www.syborgmusic.de). This album has a selection of songs in a variety of styles from seafaring folk to psych-pop and more whimsical fantasy this time inspired by Poe and Jules Verne. The album contains a three song cinematic soundtrack suite called ‘The Last Voyage Of The Nautilus’.
[edit] Discography (a selection)
The complete ‘Paul Roland discography (1979-2008)’ is very extensive and comprises 86 releases and 38 appearances on Various Artists compilations until today!
- Oscar Automobile (shared double A-side 7” single - 1979)
- The Werewolf Of London (as Midnight Rags LP - 1980)
- Blades Of Battenburg (12" - 1983)
- Burnt Orchids (LP - 1985)
- Death Or Glory (12" - 1986)
- House Of Dark Shadows (compilation CD/LP/MC - 1986)
- Gabrielle (12" - 1987)
- Danse Macabre (CD/LP - 1987)
- A Cabinet Of Curiosities (CD/LP - 1987)
- Alice's House (12" - 1987)
- Confessions Of An Opium Eater (‘Best Of’ LP - 1987)
- Happy Families (CD/LP - 1988)
- Duel (CD/LP - 1989)
- Acoustic Radio Sessions 1986-88 (LP - 1989)
- Live In Italy (CD/LP - 1990)
- Masque (CD/LP - 1990)
- Roaring Boys (CD/LP - 1991)
- Strychnine (CD - 1992)
- Sarabande (CD - 1994)
- Live In Germany (CD - 1995)
- Waxworks (‘Best Of’ 2CD - 1995)
- Gargoyles (CD - 1997)
- Duel (re-issue CD - 2002)
- Gaslight Tales (Best Of CD - 2003)
- Pavane (CD/LP - 2004)
- Strychnine…And Other Potent Poisons (re-issued CD/LP - 2005)
- Re-Animator (CD/LP - 2006)
- The Werewolf Of London (re-issued on CD - 2007)
- Nevermore (forthcoming CD - 2008)
[edit] Books
Roland is the author of more then 30 books on the subject of mysticism, crime and the occult (details of which can be found on www.paulroland.net). His books, which have been translated into more than 15 languages including Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Greek and Hebrew, reveal a serious understanding of spiritual and occult traditions, which culminated in his creation of ‘The Kabbalah Cards’ (AGMuller/Urania) in collaboration with artist Sylvia Gainsford. The cards are a radical reinterpretation of the Jewish mystical teachings with a serious psychological insight which distinguished them from the Kabbalah themed tarot packs which preceded them.
Other successful authors have endorsed Roland's work - Colin Wilson wrote the foreword to 'I Remember Dying' and commented 'No one can deny Roland is a complete master of his subject', former FBI profiler Roy Hazelwood contributed a foreword to 'In The Minds of Murderers' which he described as "an important book, a fascinating read and a unique approach to the subject" and world renowned kabbalah teacher She'ev ben Shimon Halevi gave his blessing in the form of a foreword to Paul's 'Complete Kabbalah Course'.
[edit] Bibliography
- The Curious Case Of Richard Fielding And Other Short Stories (1987)
- Revelations - The Wisdom Of The Ages (1995)
- Prophecies And Predictions (1996)
- Complete Guide To Dreams (1997)
- Angels - A Piaktus Guide (1999)
- Kabbalah - A Piaktus Guide (1999)
- Teach Yourself...Rock & Pop (1999)
- Jazz Singers (1999)
- New Age Living (2000)
- Investigating The Unexplained (2000)
- How To Meditate (2000)
- Chrysalis Guide To Rock & Pop (2001)
- Meditation (2002)
- Meditation Solutions (2002)
- How Psychic Are You? (2002)
- Kabbalah Cards (2003)
- The Guru Of Greenwich Village (unpublished ca. 2003)
- Castle Grimm (unpublished ca. 2003)
- Explore Your Past Lives (2004)
- Contact Your Guardian Angel (2005)
- The Complete Kabbalah Course (2005)
- Crime Scenes (2006)
- I Remember Dying (2006)
- The Crimes Of Jack The Ripper (2007)
- The Complete Book Of Ghosts (2007)
- Guitar Chords: All The Chords You’ll Need…And More (2007)
- The Nazis And The Occult (2007)
- The Complete Book Of Ghosts (2007)
- In The Minds Of Murderers (2007)
