PAUL WETZ
Pop
Electro
Techno
Paul Wetz is without doubt one of the most exciting German-speaking acts. Like no other, the newcomer combines his singer-songwriter skills with electronic influences and entertainer qualities to create a melancholic, melodic vibe that is charmingly unrivalled.
Paul Wetz was born in Pforzheim. As a latecomer with two older sisters, he grew up in the early 2000s with constant exposure to MTVIVA. First Smurfs, then emo-punk and finally the Red Hot Chili Peppers - and they blew a fuse in the just eight-year-old.
He makes guitars out of plywood, collects and scours the catalogues of music mail order companies and is not only interested in the sound, but also in every string and every screw behind the instruments. Until at some point, the homemade version becomes a real guitar. Paul loves Nirvana instead of sheet music and screams his heart out to his own songs. First alone, then with a band.
Between acute boredom and bouts of depression, he created his first beats and remixes on a Mac with GarageBand, financed by his confirmation money, which found their way onto SoundCloud and from there all the way to Sweden. A first deal, first studio sessions and first tours in Scandinavia followed. Eventually, Paul gives away his furniture and moves to Sweden. But what looks like the fulfilment of a big dream from the outside feels more like a daily struggle for survival for Paul.
Paul Wetz does not become a successful musician, but rather Jürgen Schneider in the service hotline of a call centre. ‘Because it made the job easier, I kept answering the phone in different roles.’ Paul gradually acquired more and more characters. Back in Germany, he began to work his entertaining skills into short songs and clips, which he uploaded to the internet every day. At the same time, he works as a songwriter and producer on songs by and with Milky Chance, Sena Şener and Evaporate.
And suddenly everyone is watching. The short clips become entire songs. ‘Just my thoughts and my language - unembellished and straight from my head,’ explains Paul, who combines his songwriting with alternative, melancholic pop music with electronic influences.
