Paul Fisk

Fisky, or Paul Fisk, born on 7th January 1981 is a British Hip-Hop artist. His album, ‘Ten Years’, is an honest and moving debut. Growing up in Dunstable, near Luton, Paul wrote poetry and short stories as a youth, but didn’t start writing songs seriously until he was in his early twenties. He explains, “I was given a DJ Greenpeace mix tape by a friend when I was about sixteen and I just couldn’t stop listening to it. I knew right then this is what I wanted to do”.

After studying Music Industry Management at University, Paul moved in with a friend in London and they started to play around with the idea of making their own music. Recording with only a computer and a USB Mic, he would play the songs he was writing for his friends. Paul started to see a positive reaction. “A few friends heard the song ‘Ten Years’ the first song I ever wrote and loved it which gave me the motivation to keep writing and improving”. Paul was gathering skill as a writer, taking his influences, from British rappers such as Lowkey, Mud Family and Chester P, but above all the influences came from life.

“I grew up with a music all around me” Paul Explains, “My Dad directed a lot of musicals with the Community Theatre, so from an early age music was always a part of my life”. The influences are evident from songs such as ‘From A Distance and Pick A Pocket’. He continues, “My old man loved Mahalia Jackson, The Rat Pack, Frank Sinatra, Bette Midler, Dean Martin, Shirley Bassey, and countless others. But it was some of the more obscure artists like Anthony Newley and the song ‘Strawberry Fair’ that would later become the most poignant and memorable”.

Writing and recording continuously, Paul hooked up with Essex based producer Charles Edison which took his music to the next level. Charles had worked with artists including; Delusionists, Oldboy, Mystro, 30KB, Stig of The Dump and Skrabl. The two recorded six songs which will be included on the upcoming album. “Working with Charles motivated me to improve my writing even further because of the people he had worked with and the quality of the beats”, he declares. More recently Paul has worked with Dr Cat & DJ Pony of Green Queen Music, a label that focuses primarily but not solely on the genres of Electronic, Electro-Swing, Dub, Nu World, Balkan Beats and Broken Beats, which shows Pauls dexterity and willingness to try new things. He states, “Working with these guys was a brilliant and challenging experience for me. They’re original, don’t follow any trends and have worked over a broad range of genres. It’s inspiring and humbling to be asked to collaborate with them and it’s exciting to venture into unknown territory. Thats the only way I’m going to grow as an artist”.

As an unsigned artist Paul had the freedom to take his time with recording the album allowing him to experiment and gave him the opportunity to work with a variety of different artists. The album includes collaborations with singer Christen Kwame and Irish songstress Sheila O’Sullivan along with a number of emcees. He reflects, “There was a lot of trial and error with the album. I’ve recorded over forty songs in total and picked sixteen for the album. I spent weeks, months on certain songs, until I thought they were just right”

From the outset it is abundantly clear there is no holding back with this album. The heart wrenching ‘No Time For Goodbyes” shows a combination of lyrical incisiveness and raw emotion which set the tone for the album. “The song is about my Father who passed late last year – it’s kind of my chance to say goodbye – it happened so suddenly none of us had a chance” he explains.

Indeed, that feeling of loss and dealing with life’s obstacles is one that is prevalent on Ten Years. Paul explains, “This album is me. What I’ve been through, how I’ve grown and what I’ve learnt from my experiences. The process of writing and recording for me is similar to going to a councillor or joining alcoholics anonymous, it’s therapeutic and the only way I’ve ever been able to express myself in a positive way. It’s also a lot cheaper than counselling…”. He’s not joking, The album is rife with emotion. From the rawest anger to love to frustration to humour and everything in between. “Yeah, I think we have pretty much covered every human emotion with this album, I think five out of the seven deadly sins are in there somewhere too…”.

The gritty, yet catchy ‘Nothing Left’ delves into his political ponderings adding another dimension to the album. “That song is basically a plea to those in power to actually do something about some of the issues in this country. I had the chance to work with two other MC’s on this track so it was good to have three people’s perspectives”.