Pauli the PSM is saucy—and he knows it. He’s an influential figure in the British music industry and a professional hottie who’s consciously taken his sweet time building a solo career. He entered the field as Pauli Lovejoy after winning the UK’s Young Drummer of the Year award in 2005. He’s gone on to be a drummer for big names such as Gorillaz and Harry Styles, as well as a music director for pop and electronic artists, including FKA Twigs and Jamie xx. On top of his musical work, he models. Despite these successes, he’s kept a relatively low public profile when it comes to his own music. He only began performing his solo material live in 2017, and though he’s released tracks intermittently since his debut in 2014, he’s prioritized multimedia collaborations and creative expression over merchandise, touring, or volume of output.
For his first solo track, Pauli teamed up with oil painter Amar Stewart to make a video for his 2014 R&B protest ballad, “Give Me a Sign (No Justice No Peace).” Since then, he’s collaborated with artists working in other mediums while shifting toward themes of tenderness and introspection. He uses meticulously crafted rhythms and an eclectic array of styles, including grime and neosoul, to make songs that feel gentle and effortless even when they get heavy.
While Pauli has yet to release a full-length record, he’s put out a handful of EPs, most recently 2021’s OffAir: The Power of Your Subconscious Mind Vol 1: Space. It’s a free ambient album (though a vinyl version is available) where each track is inspired by a zodiac sign. Using a playful, Afrofuturist sensibility, Pauli creates soundscapes where thoughts can blossom and bounce through zero gravity. The exploratory EP is part of a series from deep-listening label Off Air that challenges artists to work outside their comfort zones. Pauli is better known for electronica-infused R&B and alternative hip-hop, but this ambient music retains the signature sense of meditative complexity he’s developed in those genres.
On Pauli’s latest single, the June release “Saucy,” he raps and repeats, “I’ve got the sauce / Yeah, I’m saucy,” against a bass-heavy beat layered with hand drums, occasional laughter, and something that sounds like droplets falling in liquid. The accompanying music video is just footage of ketchup and mustard spliced with moments of Pauli having fun. As an avid practitioner of mindfulness, he’s driven by a need to push his imagination while making room for softness, reflection, and pleasure. After selling out Schubas in April on his first major U.S. tour, Pauli returns to Chicago to perform at Lincoln Hall. The show promises to be surprising and intimate.
Pauli the PSM The Parrisian opens. Fri 11/17, 8 PM, Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln, $25, all ages