Nathan-Paul Davis is recognized in the Northeast Ohio music scene as the animated alto-sax player in soul group , as well as the bandleader of experimental funk-soul band .
The musician, also a flutist and composer, released a 16-song solo album, 鈥溾�� Jan. 25. The songs on the album feature beats by and piano from .
Davis is a prolific songwriter, creating dozens of songs each month. Last year, he released two albums and is sitting on a large catalog of unreleased work.
The new album is a departure from the traditional jazz and retro Motown-influenced groups he notably has performed with over the years.
鈥淎quarius Lofi DEEZY鈥� showcases the artist鈥檚 current foray into lo-fi hip-hop production. Davis is sitting on a vast library of more new music he plans to release throughout 2021.
Using past and present sounds to inspire new music
Davis said listening to music is often a research-based experience for him. Releasing a solo record of lo-fi beats was a culmination of absorbing new sounds and writing nonstop.
鈥淪o I鈥檓 researching pop music now,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 put out a little beat tape. I put out like a little fusion jazz thing ... I鈥檝e put out some hip-hop type beats. So now I鈥檓 just like, I want to learn how to do pop music.鈥�
Davis grew up in the church as the son of a pastor. His father got him a saxophone, and he began playing the instrument at a young age.
He started playing music to make his father proud, and often they would play gospel music together.
鈥淲e would stay up all night listening to music,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚f I wanted to learn a music part, he鈥檇 sit there and watch me try and learn it, then he鈥檇 pause and say, 鈥楾ry that again.鈥欌��
Davis鈥� early years listening to music included contemporary Christian music artists like . Gospel singers from the 1990s and early 2000s have had an impact on him musically.
Davis said he also grew up listening to Motown. Later, he got into jazz.
鈥淥nce I got the saxophone, that was where it was like a journey for [my father] and I,鈥� he said.
Finding his style in soul bands
Davis is from Cleveland Heights and studied jazz at The University of Akron. As he became immersed in the local scene, the opportunity to play saxophone as part of soul singer backing band came knocking.
He said playing with Wesley Bright and The Honeytones allowed him to become polished and play more .
Still, his desire to freely write and play more experimental jazz was unrelenting.
鈥淏efore that, I was just trying to play crazy and free and just expressive and all artsy and weird,鈥� Davis said.
Bright voiced a desire for Davis to start his own soul band. The vocalist said he wanted to be in the audience for a soul concert for once instead of always being the one performing.
Davis formed , and the band鈥檚 first show was at a birthday party for Bright.
鈥淚 guess we decided to keep it going, and it just went through a lot of different transformations,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淲hen The Admirables started, I was a little more trained on how to not be a complete weirdo.鈥�
The Admirables started as a more traditional, instrumental soul band, but they鈥檝e evolved.
The group has incorporated elements of trap and funk in its sound, which reflect Davis鈥� vast range of influences and musical creativity.
鈥淲hat I figured out, it鈥檚 almost like the magic spell,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚f you go to an Admirables show, [at] the end of it, I鈥檒l be making chaos crazy noises. Sounds like a baby seal dying. And people will just be dancing like it鈥檚 a funky good time.鈥�
Becoming a prolific songwriter
Davis is constantly writing new music, both for The Admirables and for his own personal enjoyment.
He said The Admirables have enough material to this year, and he plans to release more lo-fi music as Nathan-Paul.
鈥淚鈥檝e always written my own music, and as far as Admirables go, the group has been collaborative in many, many different ways,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淏ut in the grand scheme of things, overall, that group, that鈥檚 mostly been my music in that band as well.鈥�
He said he鈥檚 not always intentional when he writes; he just sits down and lets the music flow out of him.
鈥淚t鈥檚 birthed more out of the desire. So, like, I鈥檓 probably going to write a song today, simply because I want to,鈥� Davis said.
He鈥檚 building a library for himself. Davis said his songs are healing, and he can write a full song in the span of a few hours. He can write up to 10 songs in two days.
He said, early this year, he鈥檇 written approximately a dozen songs in two weeks and sent five of them out to other artists to collaborate on.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a good chance HR3 and I might put out another beat tape out this summer. I mean, the list goes on. I move quick 鈥� There鈥檚 no way to put out that much music without writing all the time,鈥� Davis said.
For Davis, the songwriting process has become like a ritual, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced so many performing artists to stay home and .
He鈥檒l sit down at his computer and find a high-hat drum sound he likes. He鈥檒l create a pattern from this sound and build upon it with more rhythmic instrumentation.
Once he鈥檚 created a layered beat sound he鈥檚 happy with, he鈥檒l move on to the melody.
鈥淭hen three hours have gone by, and I鈥檝e got a song,鈥� Davis said.
He said he鈥檒l go outside and listen to it, walk around, pace and think about it. Then he鈥檒l repeat the process.
鈥淭he way I go about writing, I鈥檓 like extreme Southern hospitality. They always have something for you. They won鈥檛 let you leave until you take something with you,鈥� he said.
"I鈥檓 probably going to write a song today, simply because I want to."Nathan-Paul Davis
Embracing the lo-fi musical aesthetic
Davis signed with national record label in 2020 and released a self-titled, three-track in February of that year.
He said his deal with the label is nonexclusive, so he can continue to release his own solo material, on his own, as often as he likes.
鈥溾�� includes scratch beats, flute, sax, samples and easy vibes, which Davis attributes to never writing music when he鈥檚 in a bad mood.
Davis worked on five songs with Skoch and considered releasing them as their own EP. He decided to send the songs to HR3 to add beats, and a full, cohesive album was created from Davis鈥� original material.
Right now, a lot of the original music he鈥檚 working on is lo-fi and mellow.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty much laid-back, medium-tempo beats with some instrumental but mainly simple or vibe heavy,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not no crazy solos.鈥�
Davis said lo-fi music, in general, can be synonymous with being laid-back. The downtempo beats are often associated with home recordings, and lo-fi hip-hop, in particular, has gained popularity on music streaming services in the last decade.
鈥淟o-fi, I feel, fits me well,鈥� Davis said.
While jazz is heavy on improv, Davis said he wants to keep his sound as a solo artist more in line with the rest of the more chilled-out work he鈥檚 released on his own and through Ropeadope.
He said his musical influences, some of which include Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and Charlie Parker, get the wheels turning but don鈥檛 limit his own writing style to strictly jazz.
鈥淛ames Brown is my hero, the inventor of funk, and hip-hop wouldn鈥檛 really be possible without him,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚 love Stevie Wonder. But I鈥檓 not a singer.鈥�
He said lo-fi is the best of both worlds for him as an artist.
鈥淚 can put jazz stuff on top of it. I can have hip-hop, funk beats under it. There鈥檚 R&B elements. It just kind of covers a lot of ground, and there鈥檚 still an audience for it,鈥� he said.
His solo sound is more diverse, experimental and less polished than his work with The Admirables.
鈥淎t this point, I don鈥檛 think people expect anything specifically from me as a solo artist. I think people are kind of open to seeing what I鈥檓ma do,鈥� Davis said.
Describing his music as 鈥榮ound medicine鈥�
Davis said he鈥檚 been trying to fill the space left by the lack of performing in 2020 and early 2021 by writing new songs as much as he can.
鈥淚鈥檓 just gonna be doing music a lot this year,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚鈥檓 sitting on a lot of music.鈥�
He said music is healing, and writing and recording new material has been cathartic.
Hearing The Admirables鈥� sound is an immersive experience arguably best performed live, while listening to Davis鈥� lo-fi beats can be a solitary, healing journey.
鈥溾�楽ound medicine鈥� is what I call all my music,鈥� Davis said.
His biological mother died of ovarian cancer when he was a child. Davis said playing saxophone at a young age served as a way for him to try and heal people from cancer.
鈥淸I would] envision where the tumor would be and imagine my sound going in and erasing the disease,鈥� he said.
Davis said he鈥檚 not at that same place in his life anymore, but when he looks at the essence of it all, music is a form of medicine or 鈥渟piritual food.鈥�
鈥淭hat was a time in my life when I was most literal with it. I do believe that music actually does literally, physically heal,鈥� he said.
鈥溾�楽ound medicine鈥� is what I call all my music."Nathan-Paul Davis
Releasing more material in 2021
Davis curated a playlist of his original music, spanning the years and released by his various bands and projects, for Shuffle listeners. Stream it now on .
The pandemic put a halt on his live, full-band performances with The Admirables and Wesley Bright and the Honeytones in 2020, but Davis has dozens of new, original songs ready to be mixed.
He said he鈥檚 improved his production skills and has been collaborating with other producers and artists to polish some of his tracks and prepare them for release.
Every year, Davis puts out his 鈥溾�� project, which is modeled after live performance.
He hopes to release his fourth 鈥淏ootleg鈥� EP before the end of this year with the possibility of in-person concerts returning in 2021.
Davis is working with , a Los Angeles-based producer, and plans to release a new soulful, lo-fi tape with him this spring.
He鈥檚 also virtually collaborating with Frank Walton, a Cleveland trumpet player.
鈥淚鈥檓 not that planned,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淎ll I know is I鈥檓 gonna release some music, and I just kind of work with it as I go. Sometimes I write the track, and it鈥檒l all happen in three days.鈥�
Davis said each year, he either writes a song or does something 鈥渟ignificant鈥� with music on his birthday.
He said he鈥檒l continue making lo-fi beats, as opposed to traditional jazz, for the time being.
He鈥檚 been listening to trap music, which he said is 鈥渓ike pop with the 808 kick drum and production,鈥� and contemporary artists like .
Davis has been trying to expand his horizons and listen to more underground music for inspiration.
He said he wants to 鈥渟ee how much he can get away with鈥� before people start saying 鈥渢hat鈥檚 not lo-fi.鈥�
Nathan-Paul and The Admirables announced this week that they will perform a live show streamed from April 9. Follow @nathanpaulmusic on Instagram for updates.
