“THEY WERE CHILDREN”
A song to honour the memory of the children who died in Canada’s residential schools, and those who survived.
Written & Performed by Paul Irvine

They Were Children

August 31, 2022

This track is available for purchase on CD Baby here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/paulirvine2

We Will Have Ourselves a Flood

This track is from the album Faux Pop - Vol. 1 and is available for purchase on CD Baby here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/paulirvine

Coleman Hawkins, Tenor Man

When the Conversation Ends

Ballad of Virginia Travis

Hey There John

Broke Down Umbrella

Letter to You

Everytime It Rains

I Got Stoned

Fanfare For Norval Morrisseau

April 2020

"Fanfare For Norval Morrisseau", "I Got Stoned", "We Will Have Ourselves a Flood" and tracks from Paul's debut album, "Faux Pop - Vol. 1" are available at: www.paulirvine.ca and most digital streaming and download sites.

Paul Irvine - Faux Pop - Vol. 1

"This collection of songs was written and recorded between the living room and workshop during off-hours", states the CD text to Paul Irvine's debut album, Faux Pop - Vol. 1. The album was recorded entirely at home with Paul performing all vocals and instruments (except bass guitar on most songs, cello on "When The Conversation Ends" featuring Mike Olsen (Hidden Cameras, Arcade Fire), and horn section on "Wrong Side Of Love", "Save The Laugh Track" and "Hey There John" featuring members of the Shuffle Demons). He wrote, arranged, engineered, produced and mixed all songs. "Between 2008 and 2012, I set about recording the songs that form Faux Pop - Vol. 1, but the writing actually began in 2004," he notes. The album contains 14 storied songs that cover a wide range of topics. The musical arrangements and accompaniments, along with catchy and sing-able lyrics and vocals are evocative of early solo Paul McCartney, The Beatles, The Band and Randy Newman. The album makes good use of the folk, pop and rock genres, with jazz and blues overtones, all contained within the song format.

As a multi-instrumentalist, Paul employed his 120-year old upright piano, along with his "odds and ends" drum kit, to lay down a solid rhythm foundation for each song on Faux Pop - Vol. 1. "I studied percussion from an early age. In fact, I was a grade-school drum roadie; my dad was a weekend jazz drummer, so I would help with the load-in. I made a mental note at that time not to pursue drumming as a career path - far too much work." Instead, flute and saxophone became his forte. He went on to record and tour with many notable artists, including Corey Hart and Ronnie Hawkins, among others. On Faux Pop - Vol. 1, Paul demonstrates his untapped skill as a vocalist: "I'm a little more comfortable singing now than I was a few years ago. I think of my voice as an instrument that happens to use words as part of its sound."

There are some real gems on this wholly original debut album and while the listener will form their own opinion, one thing is for certain: Faux Pop - Vol. 1 is an exceedingly enjoyable listening experience. It is Triple Eh "A" Canadiana: Accessible, Adventurous, Au Courant! Presented under a deceptively misdescriptive title, the songs that are Paul Irvine's Faux Pop - Vol. 1, are at once memorable and more than worthy of a wide listening audience.

Toronto, Canada - © Paul Irvine 2012

Reviews:
Hello Paul, I finally listened to your album my friend, and I did like it a lot - song #5 (Save The Laugh Track) can't take it out of my head - u have a great tone in your voice, and great musicianship. Congrats!!!! - Alex Cuba (www.alexcuba.com)
Fantastic performances, writing, production, sounds, feel, and vibe. It's remarkable that you did it all yourself. Amazing, actually. Congratulations on an album filled with heart, soul and joy. Truly refreshing and inspiring! - Philip Sayce (philipsayce.com/)
Hey, Paul: I listened to your CD...and that is truly an amazing piece of work!...(Nice flute playing too!)... Bill McBirnie - Extreme Flute (www.extremeflute.com)

Paul Irvine - Canada

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