THERE’S nothing formulaic or obvious about the music Paul Loraine produces or the music he releases on his Rhythm Cult label.
Combining a keen sense of what works on the dance floor with strong emotion, it’s a sound that has found favour with music afficionadas and leading DJ’s alike; Jamie Jones, Maceo Plex, Funk D’Void, Magda, Sven Vath, Luciano, Loco Dice, John Digweed are just a few among those who support Paul’s cult of rhythm. He says;
“I’m a sucker for a good groove, my music is very percussive. I’m not one of these producers that can sit in the studio and write track after track that has no substance or emotional content, with me I write music that people can connect with and is personal to them in some way.”
We caught up with Paul this week for a chat, to find out what he and Rhythm Cult have coming up as we head into the new year, plus he has recorded an exclusive mix for The Night Bazaar Sessions which you can listen to HERE. He was also the subject of our main feature in our newspaper column in The Sun newspaper this week. You can find the full track list for Paul’s mix at the end of the interview here or find it on Mixcloud.
You have been on my radar for many years now, having release music with mine and Saytek a while back on our Cubism label initially but with your Rhythm Cult project you are really turning heads and have found your happy place working with some amazing artists with a prolific release schedule of quality underground beats and grooves.
Rhythm Cult was founded in 2014 so not a new project but in recent years it’s really gathered pace, tell us about how you started Rhythm Cult and built it into the force it is becoming today and your vision for the future.
“First and foremost, thank you for featuring me on The Night Bazaar Mark and for your nice remarks.
To answer your question about Rhythm Cult, I used to be resident DJ at the now-famous Monkey Club, Guernsey for almost 7 years, and I compiled mixtapes called Rhythm Control and distributed them for promotional purposes (far before social media). I had Rhythm Cult in my mind for a brand name and couldn’t understand why it wasn’t already taken, so I registered the name on every platform and .com as soon as I could, some 18 years ago.
CLICK IMAGE TO HEAD TO THE RHYTHM CULT WEBSITE
Rhythm Cult will celebrate its tenth anniversary in June 2024, and during that time we’ve released EPs from amazing artists such as Deadbeat, Portable, Barem, Orlando Voorn, Aquarius Heaven, Greenville Massive, Reboot, Dinky and many others. This was the catalyst for putting the label on the map and attracting new exciting new artists. My goal has always been to grow it from a small independent label to a major label, one day signing bands, solo artists, and overall quality acts who fit our ethos. Over the years, the label has expanded into five sub-labels, which are identified by the catalogue numbers RCM, RCD, RCR, RCS, and RCA, and release both digitally and physically.”
As you have mentioned, you are working with some great artists on the label. Give us a heads up and tell us about who we should be looking out for and the upcoming releases we can look forward to early in 2024.
“Next year our release schedule is already filling up nicely with EPs from the likes of Just Her, youANDme, dOP, Basie, Sascha Dive, Taran & Lomov and to celebrate for our 10th birthday a really special 3 part remix release package titled “The Cult Remixed” it’s a compilation of artists on our label that have remixed other releases from the Cult featuring Deadbeat, Reboot, Headbirds, Francesco Mami, Funk D’Void, Samuel L Session as well as others.”
CLICK IMAGE TO HEAD TO RHYTHM CULT’S AMAZING MIXCLOUD ARCHIVE OF CULTCAST MIXES
Living in Barcelona must have had an impact on your music and influenced your sound? The Spanish, like a lot of other European nations take their electronic music and the culture that surrounds it very seriously and love a party.
“I’ve been in Barcelona for 12 years, making it 13 years outside of the UK – I spent a year in Lisbon, Portugal in 2018, which was fantastic; I loved it and will undoubtedly return one day to live. Yeah, you’re right it has had a huge impact on my music and my sound as a producer.
As you can imagine, my sound was very dark and tribal when I lived in the UK and used to play out all the time, and I was leaning towards producers like Peace Division, Mountain People, and Shatrax to name a few, whereas living in Spain I found myself DJing more frequently at daytime events or boat parties, which suited me perfectly as I’m more fond of the musical side of dance music, so the likes of Shur-I-Kan, Jimpster, and Crazy P. Also, I was lucky enough to spend 7 years living with Funk D’Void who had a massive impact on my musically and always inspired me as a producer to go one step further.”
Paul Loraine and Rhythm Cult was our focus for our weekly column The Night Bazaar in The Sun’s award winning Something For The Weekend music section printed in the newspaper on January 5th 2024
We’ve just completed a new collaboration together, Asteroid which will be released on the third 5X3 EP on my Cubism label which I am excited for people to hear as I know you are. You are in a great place creatively at the moment I know, what have you got coming up as a producer?
“It was great pleasure working together on Asteroid Mark, and I’m excited to see how people react to that release. I’m also excited to be back on Cubism after what seems like a decade since my Saytek remix was released.
2024 will begin with a remix for Rui Da Silva from Headbirds and myself, which will be released on Kismet Records, as well as new solo material, so it’s all really exciting and also good to be back doing music after a 7-year hiatus.”
As a DJ you played some great shows across Europe last year. Can you tell us about some of the stand out shows? The Vitalik Studio parties at Pikes in Ibiza with your mate Funk D’Void sound like a lot of fun!
“Ibiza is always a standout show, and I’ve been fortunate to have played there for nearly 14 years and counting, owing to Ryan O Gorman’s belief in me as a DJ. Last October, Funk D’Void and I concluded the Vitalik Studios monthly party at Pikes, and it was magical. I’ve played many times at Pikes, and I think only a few venues worldwide come close to the ambience and overall party environment you get there. Other notable performances include DJing for the Uberhaus team in Beirut, Lebanon at the Garten (what a night and what a beautiful location), and opening the very first Piknic Électronik in Barcelona with a 5-hour DJ set alongside James Holden and Fairmont that was very special indeed.”
Paul Loraine
You have recorded a mix for The Night Bazaar Sessions. Tell us what we can expect.
“I chose deep-tech, tribal, and deep-techno for this 60-minute DJ set. I wanted to include both fresh tunes that I’m actively performing and music that has been with me for a long time. I still play tracks from 25 years ago because I know they work on the dance floor; I just re-edit them in Ableton to make them more modern, whether by adding more kicks, hats, or percussion or changing the speed. As a result, expect a mashup of music from the last week to the last 30 years. I hope you enjoy it.”
TRACKLIST👇
Disclosure, Blick Bassy – Ce n’est pas (Axel Boman Remix)
Gorge – Never Thought
Partial Arts – Cruising
Honey Dijon, Tim K – Thunda feat. John Mendelsohn (Rampa Remix)
Funk D’Void – Chasm (Pablo Bolivar Remix)
Marino Canal – Inertia
Nandu – Tell Me (Dub Mix)
Magit Cacoon & Nunu – Soul Motion (&ME Remix)
&Me – Think
Headless Ghost – SP1 (200 Tool Mix)
Agnes – Hi Murda (LP Edit)
