Black Rabbit George is the music outlet for artist Paul George.
Paul’s solo project allows him to express and explore the delicate, passionate and storytelling qualities of his own style of folk. His unmistakable voice and incredible guitar talents that tell their own story make his new single, ‘Pray’, one to listen to and explore.
Paul’s guitar-driven style has its foundations in folk, a style that can be difficult to be unique within.
Paul explains the simple reason behind his music being uniquely his. “Honestly, it’s because it’s me singing it. In a sense it is just me stripped back with my guitar flavour. You know, I studied flamenco guitar so I added elements of that in which again make it my own style.”
With Black Rabbit George being Paul’s solo project he hasn't found too many challenges. “There aren’t too many challenges being solo.
"I guess one of the main things that I find challenging is there isn’t that partner to bounce ideas off of. I really enjoy it though. I’ve wanted to do this for a while; I get to tour and do my thing. Touring is easy as well because now it’s just me and my guitar, I don’t need anything else.
“It’s good to kinda of do the opposite from [my] band [Tijuana Cartel]. It’s different and something I’ve always wanted to do. I wanted to explore darker thoughts and different guitar sounds. With this EP, I have done that.”
‘Pray’ is the newly released single that will lead his EP, ‘The Cause’, which will be released in November. After his 2015 solo debut singles, there was break in the release of music.
Paul is calm yet excited as his talks about his new material. “It feels really good. I’m happy to get it out there and see the reactions to it. “It took me awhile to get it out because that’s how it went.
"I worked quite slowly as well which added to the time. I’ve been moving back and forth between Queensland and Melbourne, so I pretty much write and record wherever and whenever I can. I just need a laptop and microphone and do it on the fly,” he says.
“I want this EP to be for a certain mood. I want it to be the EP that people can play in the early hours of the morning or whenever they need some alone time.”
Paul has taken his new material on a bit of tour, playing several shows in Bali before heading back to Oz. “I love Bali. It’s a lot like Australia in ways. The audiences are great, I’ve been playing trendy bars and venues.
“I honestly just enjoy playing to any crowd that is engaged and is enjoying what I’m doing. I like that connection you can have regardless of the different cultures,” he says. “I want to create a space where it is natural and I play from instinct.”
With his music gaining attention, Paul’s future plans are pretty clear-cut. “I’m going to Europe in April, do a bit more touring and just keep doing what I’m doing. It seems to be working, so I want to see where it’ll take me.”
Black Rabbit George plays The Bearded Lady (Brisbane) 6 April.
– written by Ellen Cook
