Exclusive Interview: Ameli Paul

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When Ameli and Paul’s paths crossed in 2016, they immediately felt the urge to fuse their approaches of making music – the succinct productions of Paul, with Ameli’s inherent songlike musicality and sentimental voice. Constantly evolving their live performance over the last few years, the duo stands for a stirring electronic sound that ranges from cinematic excursions to pop-like song structures. We caught up with the Cologne-based duo to discuss their new EP ‘Beyond Reason’, art direction from Sophie Le Meillour and life before Ameli Paul…

Hi Franziska and Paul, wishing you a very warm welcome to We Own The Nite! How are you both?

Thanks for having us! We are doing great – disregarding the ups and downs that go along with the current situation. But at least we can spend a lot of our time in the studio. 

First things first, please can you introduce yourself to our readers?

Paul: We are Ameli and Paul, both living in Cologne, Germany. Together we produce electronic music (and normally play live) as Ameli Paul – our respective second names. 

How did you meet?

Ameli: We met at a festival a couple of years ago. Back then I was playing with my band and Paul would play his solo live set. We somehow connected backstage because we instantly loved the musical energy of each other and as I was about to move to Cologne, we arranged to meet in the studio for a jam.

Paul: Which was kind of eye-opening for both of us. I used to produce alone for quite some time and was amazed by the dynamic that was released through the interaction between the two of us. 

And what were you both doing before you decided to form Ameli Paul?

Ameli: I was mainly part of other bands and studied Jazz Vocals in Stuttgart, Amsterdam and Barcelona. 

Paul: For me music was always an important compensation to my job as a psychologist. After I met Ameli, Ameli Paul became more and more central and so finally I decided to quit my job, giving more space to music and touring. 

Congratulations on the release of your new EP ‘Beyond Reason’. Tell us more…

Ameli: Thanks! We spent a lot of time in the studio lately and tried to bring our emotions of the whole lockdown situation into our music. Beyond Reason got a melancholic feeling but we also tried to keep the hopeful and positive side alive and create something that would bring an optimistic mood into people‘s hearts. 

Paul: I am really happy with the result of the EP! Ameli’s vocals got a prominent place, the tracks represent our intro- and extraverted side. We also got the chance to work with amazing people like Julius Rülke for the Mix, Stefan Thomas for the Masters, Sophie Meillour for the Artwork and very talented friends in Cologne for the Video shoot of the live version. 

We understand that it’s the first release on MEIOSIS. Who is running the label and is there any meaning behind the name of the label?

The label was started by people who love music & visual art. Meiosis is a process where a single cell divides twice to produce four cells containing half the original amount of genetic information.

We’re huge fans of the art direction from Sophie Le Meillour. Can you tell us how you connected with Sophie?

Ameli: We are big fans too! The label already arranged the collaboration and we were lucky to go through her work and choose our cover art personally. 

The remix from Aera also adds a really nice angle to the package. How did this come about?

Paul: We’ve always loved Aera for his signature sound. When he joined the same agency we had the idea to include him on the EP and we couldn‘t be happier with the result! 

What else do you have coming up over the course of 2021? Any more exciting projects you can talk to us about? 

Ameli: Yes! We have another EP on Vinyl coming this Spring. It will exhibit our dark and experimental side and will come along with our first ever music video. In autumn we will finally be releasing our debut album. We are still in the middle of the process and are super excited to be creative again. 

Any final words for our WOTN readers?

Ameli Paul: We hope you are okay! And if you are not that’s okay too, just don’t hesitate to talk to someone. Stay healthy, keep your head up and be patient. Show your love to the ones working their ass off during this pandemic, but also to those who can‘t do their jobs right now in order to end this. There will be better times for sure and we can‘t wait to bring our music to New York once this is all over. Until then lots of love from us ❤️

Thanks for your time and we wish you all the best for 2021!

Ameli Paul: Thank you so much, you too!

Ameli Paul – Beyond Reason EP is out now via MEIOSIS

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