Paul Summerlin on SoundBetter

Perfect Pitch! 35+ years experience -singer/composer/producer -toured with Seal as vocalist/bassist/pianist, Music Director of an Ivy-League feeder school, freelance production and teaching - opera, choral director, BV and orch arranger, awards for film scoring; harmony, tonal versatility, sound healing, ambient/cinematic, beat making, piano improv

Classically trained with Master Degree - From boy chorister to Choirmaster, from opera singer to Bourbon St. lead rock vocalist, from promising classical pianist at age 8 to award-winning film composer, from sight-reading at age 6 to Director of Music at Lawrenceville Prep School, from ambient enthusiast to sound healing composer and performer, from bassist/singer in high school garage band to touring with Grammy-winning artist Seal, which included a string/brass arrangement of the hit 'Kiss From A Rose' for the BBC program 'Live At Abbey Road' - Paul's breadth of talents, skills, experience, and sensitivity always shows up in the projects he works on; known for incredible breath control/sustain and emotional depth of tone. He is not a fan of anything A.I.

Offerings include:
lead and background vocals, arrangement and/or performance and production
full instrumentals/ beat making/ song arrangement/ chord progression etc.
keyboard and bass guitar session work multi-genre
audio editing, mixing

studio in the Ozarks of Arkansas, prices negotiable, package deals for multi-service needs; when you contact, please indicate type/genre, length, language, and more particulars about what you need; I don't work with Dolby Atmos; I usually work alone in my own studio, but expanding to more musicians and recording environments could be totaled into package deals

Would love to hear from you. Click the contact button above to get in touch.

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Languages

English
German
Italian
Latin

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Interview with Paul Summerlin

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I did a week-long writing session with Seal; none of it saw the light of day, but man, the material was great.. I played keyboards, and an overall writing/production role on several demos
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: setting up my new studio in a brand new space, and composing work for sound healing ceremonies
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: digital, because that's what is affordable and space saving, no other reasons
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: you will get something that will move listeners emotionally
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: ask me to do as much as possible on your track, or even let me write/produce something for you from the ground up
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: my family's Knabe baby grand, my Fender w/amp, U87, my Djembe,
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I have been many 'things' in this life when it comes to vocation; music has been with me throughout all the dramatic changes; when I realized that I wasn't an 'academic' I switch gears many years ago; I have been doing gigs since high school
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: unique, acute, one-of-a-kind, deeply spiritual and emotional, not like other singers or composers, only in form and shape, not in depth of emotional realism
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Richard Wagner - the greatest artist of his century
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: stop using 'clap-traps'! they are played out.. no really, stop.. seriously, one tip would be to stop using big name tracks for inspiration, but only for sonic reference, which is very hard to do; most mainstream music is terrible.. one more quick one: virtual instruments can often benefit from a little 'saturation' before mixing
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: usually ambient, chamber, cinematic, and singer/songwriter stuff, but it really doesn't matter; there are only 2 kinds of music - good music and bad music; it is not as subjective as people think
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: my voice, and how I use it, pure and simple
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: basically any sound a human male voice can make, and any instrumental timbre needed; real guitars should be hired out to someone else, although I play a little and play bass guitar very well I can help with editing, mixing, mastering; I don't believe in 'tuning' vocals, but I have the skills to do it if the client needs it
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I usually work alone, and on one project at a time, when tenable; which means I can get each project done faster
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: MacStudio M2 max, LogicPro, DavinciResolve, Mackie HR824's with subwoofer, Klipsch floor standing speakers with Denon Amp, Shure, Sennheiser, Studio Projects, and AKG mics, SoundDevices interface, Roland A-88 controller, M-Audio controller, main software includes Pianoteq, Pianoverse, Kontakt, IK Multimedia package
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: vocal leads, overdubs, chanting, keyboards/piano/samples, music beds, mixing, voiceover