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Paul 'F1' King (aka Pants & Corset and Trauma)

16th of February 2007 - interview copyright of Frenzy

If you need an introduction to who Paul King is then that can only mean you're new to hard house as this guy has been one of the most influential artists to shape the scene... and he's one of our own from Bournemouth. You take a look at any hard house album from 1997 onwards and read the inlay... you will see the name Paul King in there somewhere. Want to know more? Then read on....

1. How did you get into producing initially?  Your first ever track ‘Elevate’ was signed to Tony De Vit’s label Jump Wax all the back in 1996.  That wasn’t a bad start for an aspiring producer… so how did you manage that?! 

I actually taught myself everything.  Elevate was a long time ago and the production on it is terrible, but Tony obviously liked it.  It started out as a rough demo on the back of a cassette that I’d given him.  He said he’d rather have that track than the one I originally did and that’s what ended up on the record.

Paul King, aka Pants and Corset, Trauma Trax, Overload, and more
Paul King, aka Pants and Corset, Trauma Trax, Overload, and more

2. On the same subject, I’ve got a Tony De Vit tribute album and on the inlay there’s a photo that looks suspiciously like a young Paul King (and Chris B) with Tony.  Was Tony De Vit an influence on you and did he have any bearings on your early career?

Not at all! Lol.  Tony was a big influence on me, not his production as such, but more the tracks he played in his set.  That’s where the F1 sound came from, as it was very heavily influenced by his Trade sets at the time.  There was a lot of good tracks about then, and I think the scene was a lot more influential as a whole than it is now.

3. Outside of hard house and hard dance we understand that you’ve recently worked on other music projects.  Could you enlighten us a little bit to what these might be and where we might be able to hear them in the future?

Yeah, I’ve been working on a lot of house stuff, mainly for my own enjoyment, but a couple will be coming out.  I’ve also been working on a few scores for short films and I’m currently working on some new tracks for Marc Almond.  I’m finishing off a few hard house projects at the mo, so they’ve kinda been keeping from doing anything else.

Paul King playing at Bournemouth's Showbar in May 2002
Paul King playing at Bournemouth's Showbar in May 2002

4. Where was the first place you DJ’ed out at, and did that come after your production work?

That was at a club in Southampton, and was a while after I was producing.  I used to do remixes for Chris B to play at the same place!

5. What do you do outside of your production and DJ’ing duties?  Any bizarre and interesting hobbies we should know about… oh, and please confirm that you’re not a hairdresser by trade are you?  We heard a recent rumour! ;-)

Despite what Chris B has said, no, I’m not a hairdresser, nor have I ever been one.  I currently work for JP Morgan (the investment bank).  As for hobbies, I don’t really get time at the moment, but I’m a great cook, and I do love my xbox 360 and Nintento Wii.

6. You’re from Bournemouth which is traditionally known as a haven for old people, eg Chris B.  On the flipside of this, Bournemouth has always had a good reputation for underground clubnights, and also production talent.  I’m thinking your good self, Tinrib, Langford, Organ Donors… what it is about the town that seems to inspire this creativity?

Langford, creative??? Lol.  I have no idea, at all.  It’s great to be by the sea.  I live 5 mins from the beach so in the summer it’s great.  I think it’s just a very relaxed place.

Paul King - hard house legend - works in investment banking, not a hair dresser
Paul King - hard house legend - works in investment banking, not a hair dresser

7. It would be rude not to let you plug your up and coming production and DJ’ing schedule so now’s your chance to tell us what you’re up to over the coming months.  Is there anything the Frenzy clubbers should know about?

Err.  OK.  Trauma Trax 3...includes tracks this time around with Paul Janes, Ben Stevens, Dave Owens, John Aggy and Andy Farley.  Will be out soon-ish.  The greatest hits package entitled “Global Dynamics” will be out around May.  Will include all the usual suspects from the last 10 years, plus a bonus cd of rare and unreleased tracks, new remixes, the new F1 single and a few other bits.  They’ll be 4 very limited 1 sided coloured vinyls of remixes coming out prior to the release of the album.  Also remixes of “Turn It Up” and “It’s My Beat” by Nik on Toolbox, and my mix of “IPA” by Ali Wilson & Matt Smallwood on Tekelec.  Hence why I haven’t had time to do anything else!!

8. Heaven forbid… but let’s just pretend for one sick moment that your house is burning down… what are the three items that you would save apart from yourself of course?

My other half, my cats and my laptop.

9. I always ask this question… What are your top 5 tracks of all time?  And as I always stress, they don’t have to be hard house as we know you’ve got a varied taste when it comes to music.

As I always reply to this question...err lol.  It’s hard, really hard, albums are easier so I’ll do those.

  • Depeche Mode “Black Celebration”
  • Mendelssohn “Violin Concerto in E minor”
  • Vangelis “1492 Soundtrack”
  • BT “Movement in Still Life”
  • Destinys Child “The Writing’s on the Wall”
  • And Madonna “Bedtime Stories” (I know it’s 6!!)

Some of Paul King's many vinyl releases
Some of Paul King's many vinyl releases

10. With the previous question in mind, what can we expect from you at Frenzy presents Pants and Corset? 

A few classics, a few re-works and some new stuff from Trauma Trax 3.

11. Finally, and last but not least… who is the most famous person you’ve ever met… and is there anyone else you’d like to meet (perhaps a hero you might have)?

I’ve met Chris B and he’s dead infamous!  Would like to meet... someone rich, GSOH, about 6ft, please contact me ASAP... hahaha!

Paul will be next playing for Frenzy on the 9th of March 2007 at the Empire Club in Bournemouth so check our forthcoming events for more information. You can find out more about Paul 'F1' King at www.paul-king.co.uk.