The New Paul Institute Tracks Channel Synthy Pasts and Futures

Someone ought to tell Christian rock group Reinen that there’s a new REINEN in town. But, to be honest, we don’t actually know much about this REINEN either. What do we know is that she’s one of the latest acts to have their music put out by AK Paul and Jai Paul’s Paul Institute. On Monday night, both REINEN and fellow newcomer HIRA shared their first pieces of music on the Paul family label-of-sorts. HIRA, a Londoner who’d worked with AK Paul on track "Eve" before this drop, released “Red Light Drive.” REINEN put out “Masquerade.” And both are powerful statements of intent from two artists who sound distinct, confident and perfectly in tune with the experimental, metallic-synthed purview of what we've heard so far from the Paul Institute. As ever, you can only hear them on the site itself.

Last week, Fabiana Palladino released the rippling, vocals-layered-for-days dream-pop of “Shimmer” while Ruthven’s “Hypothalamus” burrowed its brass-like synths into my mind on a loop for a full 48 hours. And so, with this new material from HIRA and REINEN, the Institute is doubling down on the notion that fans should see this label-like project as more than a place for AK and Jai Paul to chuck their own solo material. Instead, it's showing itself to be a fertile ground from which other artists will bloom. I mean, gutted for the Paul brothers die-hards who were hoping every text from the Institute would lead to full albums from the elusive pair, but I believe we can trust in their curatorial taste.

First: some context, if all this talk of an institute and "drops" has your head spinning. In March 2016, Jai Paul and AK Paul announced the paul.institute website. For two musicians who’ve always maintained an air of mystery coupled with talent, it fit their usual MO. On the page, you could enter your phone number and then… well, then just wait. At the end of that week, anyone who signed up would’ve received a text that read: “Hey this is AK Paul. Releasing my debut single tomorrow, wanted to invite you all to hear it here,” followed by a link to the Paul Institute members site page. “Peace :),” he signed off. The song in question was clattering, hand-clapping track “Landcruisin’,” which soon ended up on Soundcloud.

Things went quiet again until a property mag, of all things, broke the news in November 2017 that the Paul Institute had a brick-and-mortar headquarters in west London. Just days later, the Institute shared Fabiana and Ruthven's first tracks: "Mystery" and "Evil," respectively. And now, it's HIRA and REINEN's time to be nudged into the spotlight. A press release describes "Red Light Drive" by HIRA as “a cyberpunk symphony set in that nightclub in Strange Days” but tbh that is both somehow extremely extra and almost an undersell of the track.

The song is a synthy, rumbling banger. It opens with lightly reverbed vocals laid gauzy over impeccably tight drum machine clips and thuds. The song recalls just about every dystopian future love story scene you could imagine, as on lines like "When the light is right, we're only outlines / We're keeping it out of sight." And its rhythm propels it along in the exact way that makes it feel apt to soundtrack a car ride zipping from 2018 into 2098, with streetlights glowing red and purple and a jolt in your stomach. HIRA is asking the subject of the song to come along that ride with him, even if that might seem like a scary risk to take. He captures both the quiver and glowing comfort of early romance at once.

There's a reason HIRA's music, like his last AK Paul collab "Eve," feels so visual. Pounding through your headphones, he evokes everyone from Prince to early Janet Jackson. Yet he also marries a film school background with musical skill to make this project feel both aesthetically and sonically cohesive. I know that we take that for a given with so many artists today, but it's impressive how much he has a hand in all those elements of his own work. By that I mean that HIRA produces, writes and sings on his music while also – according to this somewhat mysterious press release again – designing his merch, graphics and music artwork.

Conversely, REINEN holds her cards closer to her chest. She also tackles romantic love, on "Masquerade," but does so in a way that sounds like her voice is beaming in from the baroque period, rather than a misty and still-distant future. AK Paul-collaborated "Masquerade" marries new wave, 80s pop vocals with ones that suddenly soar into an operatic register. A pounding bass runs underneath those layered vocals, as programmed strings stab away at the air that falls between the songs pulsing 4/4 beat. On a first listen, this track may sound the least like what you've heard from the Paul Institute so far. But that's part of the project's charm. It can swerve from the copper-sounding synths – which have gone from an AK Paul signature to a sound favoured by someone like Ben Khan – to the tinnier synths and guttural vocals on "Masquerade." All I know at this point is that the Institute will continue to surprise fans, with every one of those texts. To hear this week's new songs, head over to the site (enrol if need be) – it's well worth all the secretive buildup. In the meantime, someone better get the other Reinen on the phone.

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