Produced by Eric Avery
Written by Jay Bonaparte, Michelle Opthof
credits
from Autopilot - LP, releases August 13, 2021
Produced by Eric Avery
Performed by Paragon Cause, Eric Avery and Eric Gardner
Vocals - Michelle Opthof
Guitar - Jay Bonaparte
Bass and Synthesizers - Eric Avery
Drums - Eric Gardner 
Recorded at Neko Studies, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
2021 and Acorn Manor, LA, California

Autopilot

Think I'm Going Crazy Over You (Acorn Manor Mix)

10 Think I'm Going Crazy Over You (Acorn Manor Mix)

Written by Paragon Cause
Produced by Nature of Wires and Paragon Cause
Performed by Paragon Cause and Nature of Wires
lyrics
There's no time for hide and seek
Knowing you will seek release
Picking now and you don't see it
Truth is now you don't see it
Time always tells the truth
Time always tells the truth
Picking now and you don't see it
Lying and happy
Lying and happy
Just repeat it
Time always tells the truth
Time always tells the truth
But you don't see it
Time To
Time To Leave
But you don't see it
Time to Time to Leave
credits
from Autopilot - LP, releases August 13, 2021
Written by Paragon Cause
Produced by Nature of Wires and Paragon Cause
Performed by Paragon Cause and Nature of Wires
Mixed by Nature of Wires
Recorded at Neko Studios, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Mastered by Noah Mintz, Lacquer Channel Mastering

Time To Leave

Vinyl, CD, Digital

A dream inspired track about the future. Recording at Neko Studio. 

Written by M VanKheul, K Opthof

Performed byM VanKheul, K. Opthof, B. Ross

Produced by The Desk

<a href="https://theartistunion.com/tracks/4b9933" rel="nofollow">Download for free on The Artist Union</a>

Purchase

Next Time

A fearful dream of reality. Power can hold someone tightly.

EscaPe

Fear

Huron Carol

Huron  Carol

Some improv using the Oto Bam and Waldorf Blofeld.

We decided to record this to test out the Bam. We used three tracks, all with the Waldorf and Bam. We used different settings on the Oto Bam Reverb. We would adjust the mix, the hold, the input and change the room size. Changing room size gives you some control over the actually frequency of the reverb and can be used musically.

Ambient Excuses

Bam (Instrumental)

Wept (Ambient)

Still (Ambient)

The hit single from the EP Lies Between Us by Paragon Cause

To purchase vinyl/cassette or CD visit Bandcamp

Lies Between Us

Seperate Lives

Buy Vinyl/Cassette

Drop Me In

Buy Vinyl

To Purchase FULL VINYL of What We Started - Featuring Lost Cause
https://paragoncause.bandcamp.com/album/what-we-started-2

When creativity meets talent, drive, and encouragement from a valued mentor, the results can be spectacularly successful and incredibly fulfilling.

Ottawa-based ethereal alternative/electro-pop duo Paragon Cause are such a case, as their new full-length album, What We Started, is a powerfully bold statement by a band that is brimming with confidence and artistic zeal.

Coming less than a year after the release of their EP Lies Between Us, it sees the dynamic musical duo of Michelle Opthof and Jay Bonaparte reunite with producer/songwriter Sune Rose Wagner, a Danish pop music legend, best known for his band The Raveonettes. Together, over an intensive and intensely collaborative session in the fall of 2019, they composed, arranged and produced an collection of 10 exceptional new songs, that highlight the magical way Paragon Cause have evolved as artists, developing a style and sound that is imbued with emotional darkness, light and plenty of shades of grey.

The first single for the album, Lost Cause, is the perfect example of this edgy and more instinctive approach to writing, as it began with Opthof noodling around on a piano, while Wagner and Bonaparte were out of the studio. They returned and encouraged her to keep developing the unique riff into a full composition. She later added parts of lyrics that she had rolling around in her head for some time, brought a powerfully compelling melody into the mix and a potential hit was born.

“It’s a song about the end of a relationship and coming to the conclusion that the other person is a lost cause. Sune loved the song right from the beginning, and once I started working on the lyrics and melody, it just came together super fast after that. I guess I was just in a mood,” Opthof said with a chuckle.

Thematically and sonically, Paragon Cause’s form of pop music is expressive, but often of emotions and experiences that lean towards the darker, grittier and less rose-tinted version of the human experience. Opthof admits that writing is a way for her to process and expunge her darker thoughts, and express sentiments that may not always be happy, but are ones that most people can identify with – exactly the purpose of good art.

What We Started

Lost Cause

Buy Vinyl/CD

Someone Else, the intense opener off the new album by Paragon Cause -Lies Between Us. 

Purchase a full copy of the album on Bandcamp (vinyl, Cassette, Digital)

Someone Else

Buy Full Album

Demo(Separate Lives)

Credits
from Autopilot - LP, releases August 13, 2021
Written by Jay Bonaparte, Michelle Opthof, Sune Rose Wagner
Performed by Paragon Cause and Sune Rose Wagner
Lyrics by Michelle Opthof 
Vocals Michelle Opthof, Sune Rose Wagner
Guitar: Jay Bonaparte
Keyboard: MIchelle Opthof
Bass : Jay Bonaparte
Drums: Sune Rose Wagner
Recorded at Neko Studies, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
2021

I'm Not Here

rom Autopilot - LP, releases August 13, 2021
Written by Jay Bonaparte, Michelle Opthof, Sune Rose Wagner
Performed by Paragon Cause and Sune Rose Wagner
Lyrics by Michelle Opthof
Guitar: Jay Bonaparte
Keyboard: MIchelle Opthof
Bass and Drums: Sune Rose Wagner
Recorded at Neko Studies, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
2021

Think I'm Going Crazy Over You

Think I'm Going Crazy Over You (Original Mix)

Sometimes it takes a little while for a song to grow on you, even if you’re the one who wrote it. For guitarist/songwriter Jay Bonaparte of Ottawa electro-rock duo Paragon Cause, he had initial doubts as to the structure of a song he had just written. After sitting down with partner Michelle Opthof and producer/collaborator Sune Rose Wagner to add some meat to his musical bones, Two to Play is now one of the best compositions on the band’s forthcoming new album.

And in an interesting twist, the lyrics tackle the issue of being a people pleaser and trying to cater to other people’s needs, desires and tastes.

“When I was writing the words, I realized that I have this desire to make everyone happy and please people, which a lot of other people have. In that moment I realized, ‘you know what? No, I am not going to seek the approval of everyone. I am just going to go it alone and do my own thing.’ And it wasn’t about being petulant and selfish, it was about confidence and relying on my own talents and opinions and feelings – putting myself first,” said Opthof, adding that this attitude of having faith in one’s own abilities and being brave and taking risk applies to Paragon Cause’s approach to their music and careers in recent years, especially in the creative process leading to Autopilot.

Bonaparte overrode his early hesitancy once he heard the melody and vocal tracks as well as some saucy and scintillating keyboard elements added by Wagner.

“It was a very strange experience writing that song. We almost deleted it, and now it’s one of my favorite songs on the album, which is strange because I usually don’t do a 180 like that. I just knew I wanted a dream poppy, shoe gazey, dramatic, powerful kind of song, and that’s what we ended up with,” he said.

A topical song with an incessantly groovy melodic hook and rhythmic intensity, Two to Play is another example of the songwriting and performance excellence of the talented duo that comprise Paragon Cause. 
lyrics
Looking forward falling back
Moving along without your blessing
Time won’t stop for you

Pushing pushing your not ready
You’ve fallin behind and your running now
There’s no guarantees
And your certainty scares me

How do you know if you’ll still be there
How will you know when I pass by
Looking forward falling back
Moving along without your blessing
Time won’t stop for you

I keep running until the guilt sets in
I knew when I began that it was wrong
I did it anyway
I did it anyway
It takes two to play

I took delight in the fall
Cuz for them you took him down you took him down
You think that you could get away with this

Now your running scared
Now your running scared
Now your running scared
Now your running scared
Now your running scared
Now your running scared
Now your running scared
Now your running scared
credits
from Autopilot - LP, releases August 13, 2021
Written by Jay Bonaparte, Michelle Opthof, Sune Rose Wagner
Performed by Paragon Cause and Sune Rose Wagner
Lyrics by Michelle Opthof
Guitar: Jay Bonaparte
Keyboard: MIchelle Opthof
Bass : Jay Bonaparte
Drums: Sune Rose Wagner
Recorded at Neko Studies, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
2021

Two To Play

from Autopilot - LP, releases August 13, 2021
Written by Jay Bonaparte, Michelle Opthof
Performed by Paragon Cause 
Produced by Jay Bonaparte

Lyrics by Michelle Opthof
Guitar: Jay Bonaparte
Keyboard: MIchelle Opthof, Jay Bonaparte
Bass : Jay Bonaparte

Recorded at Neko Studies, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
2021

More Than We Can Handle

rom Autopilot - LP, releases August 13, 2021
Produced by Sune Rose Wagner
Written by Jay Bonaparte, Michelle Opthof, Sune Rose Wagner
Performed by Paragon Cause and Sune Rose Wagner
Lyrics by Michelle Opthof
Guitar: Jay Bonaparte
Keyboard: MIchelle Opthof
Bass and Drums: Sune Rose Wagner
Recorded at Neko Studies, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
2021

Think I'm Going Crazy Over You (Staten Island Mix)

from Autopilot - LP, releases August 13, 2021
Written by Jay Bonaparte, Michelle Opthof, Sune Rose Wagner
Performed by Paragon Cause and Liam Howe
Lyrics by Michelle Opthof
Guitar: Jay Bonaparte
Keyboard: MIchelle Opthof
Bass : Jay Bonaparte
Drums: Liam Howe
Synth: Liam Howe
Recorded at Neko Studies, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
2021

Think I'm Going Crazy Over You (Brooklyn Mix)

Think I'm going Crazy (Brooklyn Mix)

THINK I'M GOING CRAZY OVER YOU
Produced by Liam Howe
Written by Jay Bonaparte, Michelle Opthof and Sune Rose Wagner

With a nod to their varied and eclectic influences, Ottawa, Canada’s passionate providers of ethereal, atmospheric electro-rock, Paragon Cause, continue their assault on the conventionality of pop music in the 21st Century with the release of their latest single, Think I’m Going Crazy Over You (Jupiter Mix).

It is the next musical masterwork to come from the compellingly talented duo of Jay Bonaparte and Michelle Opthof, working in close collaboration with two veteran European hit makers/producers/songwriters Sune Rose Wagner of The Raveonettes and Liam Howe (The Sneaker Pimps/FKA Twiggs/Lana Del Ray) as part of their forthcoming new album, Autopilot.

“The idea was to take the lyrics and melody for Think I’m Going Crazy Over You and create different music to accompany it, changing the meaning of the song each time. We wanted to experiment with the power of music and sound, so we recorded three different versions of the same song.” said Bonaparte.

“We wanted to show how an individual can view one single situation from a different point of view, depending on the day, their feelings, their point of view,” added Opthof.

Although the three versions of the song also represent the breadth of the pair’s musical inspirations, and the various people who helped bring Autopilot to life. The single version (Jupiter Mix) of the song was recorded with producer and Sneaker Pimps co-founder Liam Howe. The song features a production style that maintains a driving pulse and darkening atmosphere, but the mood changes dramatically when the backdrop changes to a psyched-out dance groove.

Lyrically the song is more about being in a frustrating circumstance or time in life and not being able to say or do anything about it, according to lyricist Opthof.

“I was in one of those moods where I was frustrated with something going on around me and my inability to make change for something, I feel really passionate about,” she said.

It is a sentiment, and a song, that will no doubt find resonance amongst pretty much anyone who hears it.

We called this version the Jupiter Mix as Liam heavily featured his classic Jupiter 8 synthesizer. The sounds of that instrument really bring the emotion forward. 
credits
released May 14, 2021

Think I'm Going Crazy Over You (Jupiter Mix)

written by Jay Bonaparte, Michelle Opthof and Sune Rose Wagner
Performed by Paragon Cause
Produced and Mixed by Liam Howe
Mastered by Noah Mintz, Lacquer Channel Mastering, Toronto, Ontario
Recorded at Neko Studios, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Art by Katie Gallagher

Think I'm Going Crazy Over You (Jupiter Mix)

It is rare that a song comes tumbling out of the hearts and minds of its creators nearly complete. For the songwriting team behind the tune Play Me, a forthcoming single off the new album Autopilot by Ottawa electro-rockers Paragon Cause, inspiration met craft, and the result is a musical masterpiece of subtle swagger and sarcasm, built on the bedrock of compelling and evocative soundscapes, perfect for the cynicism and self-absorbed nature of life in 2021.

“I was just sitting down strumming the guitar when I came up with this cool part. I went and played it for Michelle [Opthof] and Sune [producer/collaborator Sune Rose Wagner of The Raveonettes] and both of them fell in love with it instantly. We recorded the guitar part in two takes, and Michelle only needed two takes from start to finish, making up the lyrics and melody pretty much on the spot before she recorded her vocals,” explained Paragon Cause’s Jay Bonaparte.

“The song is making a pretty strong statement about the way people treat one another and how they act and talk on social media. It’s almost like a tease to all the haters in your life who take advantage of you, but you know that’s what they’re doing so there’s that sarcasm in saying, ‘I will let you play me over and over again.’ I am wise to you now. I know this game. I know how to play it and how to make it work for me,” added Opthof.

"The best memory of recording this song is that after we completed it, we did a rough mix and played it over and over about 30 times on our home stereo. Sune Rose was rocking out to it playing air guitar while we all grooved with a glass of wine. We knew we had something fun, but there was still something missing. So Sune Rose took the song and added a guitar part which really brings the song together. Its pretty incredible hearing Sune's guitar on the song,, its so iconic"

Play Me is the latest in a string of acclaimed singles from Autopilot, and album that has established the duo comprising Paragon Cause as creative forces to be reckoned with for years to come. 

credits
from Autopilot - LP, releases August 13, 2021
Written by Jay Bonaparte, Michelle Opthof, Sune Rose Wagner
Performed by Paragon Cause and Sune Rose Wagner
Produced by Sune Rose Wagner

Lyrics: Michelle Opthof
Vocals: Michelle Opthof, Sune Rose Wagner
Guitar: Jay Bonaparte, Sune Rose Wagner
Drums/Bass: Sune Rose Wagne

Play Me

When creativity meets talent, drive, and encouragement from a valued mentor, the results can be spectacularly successful and incredibly fulfilling.

Ottawa-based ethereal alternative/electro-pop duo Paragon Cause are such a case, as their new full-length album, What We Started, is a powerfully bold statement by a band that is brimming with confidence and artistic zeal.

Coming less than a year after the release of their EP Lies Between Us, it sees the dynamic musical duo of Michelle Opthof and Jay Bonaparte reunite with producer/songwriter Sune Rose Wagner, a Danish pop music legend, best known for his band The Raveonettes. Together, over an intensive and intensely collaborative session in the fall of 2019, they composed, arranged and produced an collection of 10 exceptional new songs, that highlight the magical way Paragon Cause have evolved as artists, developing a style and sound that is imbued with emotional darkness, light and plenty of shades of grey.

Wagner had been a long-time idol of both Opthof and Bonaparte, but this time around, they were less star-struck and approached the sessions that would lead to What We Started with a heightened level of confidence and focus in their own abilities, seeing Wagner now as more of a valued senior collaborator.

PARAGON CAUSE

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