It’s about a year ago now that I went to a very very rainy New York city to work with one of the most individual and talented rappers around, MC Paul Barman, to collaborate on a track for the second Young Punx album. At the time the recording session was not particularly an easy one – in retrospect I feel that I was accidentally doing more to put Paul off than to put him at his ease, which was an error on my part. I largely put this down to the challenges of getting rushed into an alien environment, not having time to really get to know everyone involved and how they like to work, then having the pressure of having to create, in the morning, at cost to me, against a ticking clock! It doesn’t make for a relaxed creative environment.

That said Paul is master of words and through a combination of prepared notes scribbled on napkins, and inventive freestyles he gave me plenty of gems to take home with me.

At the time I was really faced with the problem that great though his vocals were I wasn’t really sure how to place them within the album in a way that made them feel like they belonged in the same body of work. However, a year later as the album is nearing completion I feel that the problem is really solving itself. Read more