Pauli Lovejoy

PAULi
Pauli, live at Timber Street London Showcase
Background information
Birth name	Paul Stanley-McKenzie
Also known as	Pauli Lovejoy, The PSM
Born	(1988-11-08) November 8, 1988
Origin	London, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Pop, hip hop, R&B, alternative rock, electronica
Occupation(s)	Drummer, recording artist, music director, model
Instruments	Drums, percussion, vocals, OP-1 synth
Years active	2005 (2005)–present
Labels	Kobalt
Associated acts	Eliza Doolittle, FKA twigs, Gorillaz Sound System, Jamie xx, Kindness, MLKnCRL, Sampha, Tawiah
Website	paulilovejoy.com

PAULi is a drummer, recording artist, music director and model.

Early Stages

In 2005, Pauli won the Young Drummer of The Year award and performed on the BBC's Blue Peter.^[1][2]

In 2008, Pauli was appointed the role as music director for MOBO award winning artist Jahaziel and platinum selling artist Eliza Doolittle. He has also appeared in acclaimed music videos for Duffy, Jordin Sparks, Shingai Shinowa (Noisettes), Raghav and Mutya Buena (Sugababes/MKS).

In 2009, age 20, Pauli started working with Gorillaz,^[3] which features the Grammy award-winning cartoon band's music remixed to visual effects and toured with the outfit, playing corporate club shows and headlining festivals around the world. Playing with Gorillaz Sound System introduced Stanley-McKenzie to Africa Express, which led to his contribution in the collective's international shows and the Cultural Olympiad UK train tour, playing alongside featuring legends: Paul McCartney and John Paul Jones amongst a host of African musicians including: Tony Allen, Baaba Maal and Amadou & Mariam.

In January 2014, it was announced that Stanley-McKenzie would play drums for Damon Albarn on tour in support of his debut solo album Everyday Robots, alongside Seye, Jeff Wootton and Mike Smith.^[4]

Pauli, live in Paris with Gorillaz Sound System 2012

Career

In December 2014, Pauli wrote “Give Me A Sign” which premiered on The Fader ^[5] and championed by Stereogum^[6] as a “Protest Song” was Dedicated to Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Rafael Ramos & Wenjian Liu, this was a collaboration with Brooklyn-based oil painter Amar Stewart and marked the first solo recording under the guise “Pauli Lovejoy”. The music for "Give Me a Sign" was co-produced with Brooklyn based music producer and artist "Heavy Mellow".

In 2015, Pauli served as a music director for FKA twigs’ headline ‘Congregata’ shows in London (Roundhouse / Alexander McQueen), New York (Red Bull Music Academy), Glastonbury (West Holts Headline), LA (FYF Fest Headline) and at the MOBO Awards.^[7] Subsequently this led to working with FKA twigs' label-mate, Jamie xx as music director for the live promo of his debut record ‘In Colour,’ which saw Pauli directing live performances on Le Grand Journal (Canal+) (Paris) and Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Still recognized as a prominent music influencer, Pauli was called upon as the primary talent for the Tanqueray "Greatness Starts at Ten" campaign.^[8]

On 24 September 2015, "i Don't Care" had its radio debut on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio show on Apple Music.^[9] The accompanying video premiered on Noisey.^[10]

On 27 October 2016, "Waiting (Getting On This Train)" the first single off of his forthcoming EP, THE IDEA OF TOMORROW premiered on Zane Lowe's Apple Music Beats 1 radio show. That same week, The Fader included "Waiting" on their playlist of "11 Songs You Need in Your Life This Week.".^[11] In addition, "Waiting" was featured on Wonderland Magazine's Tracks of the Week Playlist.^[12]

"Believe in Me" the second single from EP, THE IDEA OF TOMORROW, premiered on Complex.^[13] and had its first radio play on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show. Apple Music included the single on their Best of The Week Playlist.^[14] "Believe in Me" as garnered attention from Dazed^[15] and Nylon.^[16]

On 9 December 2016 Pauli released his debut EP, THE IDEA OF TOMORROW with long-time collaborator and fellow London-producer Kwes on Kobalt.

In partnership with social media app, Vero, Pauli premiered his Visual EP, THE IDEA OF TOMORROW,^[17] an afrofuturist fairytale set on Kepler-452b, directed by Rohan Blair-Mangat. Pauli states “there is a vital synergy between my music and the visuals (as will be demonstrated with my forthcoming releases).”

In 2017 Pauli debuted his first live show as a solo artist during Paris Fashion Week at Les Bains Paris.

Discography

Studio recording credits

• Damon Albarn
• Eliza Doolittle
• Eric Lau
• Wolf Gang
• Jimmy Napes
• Markus Dravs
• Craigie Dodds
• Sampha

References