New Project: 'Sketches'

I'm starting a new side project while the next album concept continues to unfold:

A short series of sketches meant to share initial, imperfect concepts, with minimal editing or production.

My goal is to upload a new one each week to my YouTube channel.

Here's the first in the series.

‘Still’ - Stream the Full Album Here

Buy Your Copy Here

Half of all proceeds go to relief organizations helping on the ground in Ukraine.

'Still' On Colorado Public Radio - March 16, 2023

The story behind 'Still' was featured on CPR in a piece by Eden Lane, CPR arts & culture reporter. The story included a moving interview with Anatoly Shmargun of Kaska Records, the Ukrainian group that contributed the strings on the album's title track.

Hello

I'm glad you're here.

There's something about the way that music affects how we see the world that surrounds us. I don't know quite what it is. But I know it's real.

Sometimes the only way to know something is to get to know the space around it. I think music - the way it holds memories, encapsulates ideas, compels emotions - is one of those things.

This is my small contribution to the space around this thing that is so vast.

Join my email list for a few updates

(No spam, I promise)

A Note About 'Still'

My first full-length album is out now. It's the product of several incredible people contributing a humbling amount of talent. Here's a quick note about some of them.

In the summer of 2021, I worked with a group of enormously talented string players called Kaska Records to record a demo of the title track, 'Still.' All of our work was done remotely because we were in different parts of the world.

I was in Denver, Colorado; they were in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Since that summer in 2021, the album and its title track have been called 'Still' - a word that embodies two opposites: being perpetually in motion and being completely motionless. It's something that seemed to describe many corners of our world over the past few years: everything, and nothing, all at once.

So it seems somehow fitting that the people who shared a moment in their lives with the very beginnings of this project were Ukrainian - just a few months before the threat of nothing became everything to them.

Kaska Records' performance was so powerful that it became the basis of the album version - these are the strings you hear when you listen to the track now.

Considering all this, and the immense violence, destruction, and loss that the people of Ukraine are still enduring, half of all proceeds from sales of this album will go to organizations helping on the ground in Ukraine and wherever refugees are finding shelter, including the Ukrainian Red Cross, UNICEF, Mercy Corps, and World Central Kitchen.

The last I heard, Kaska Records are still making music, albeit with a poignant disclaimer:

"Please be patient with your project. We're doing the best we can. Our country is at war."

Updates

'Still' on Colorado Public Radio 

Once in a while, unexpected things happen. One of these things involves 'Still,' and I thought you might like to hear about it.

Over the past few weeks, 'Still' has been making appearances on Colorado Public Radio: as part of a local interest program called Colorado Matters, played in full on CPR Classical, and, most recently, in a digital story which you can check out here.

It's worth a quick read or listen just for the parts about Anatoly and Kaska Records, the Ukrainian group who contributed the strings you hear in the title track.

Here's a little backstory: Eden Lane, CPR arts & culture reporter, learned about the project from my friend and PR extraordinaire Joy Meadows and reached out to find time for a conversation. Before I could respond, we learned that Eden had already tracked down Anatoly and scheduled an interview.

As you'll hear in the CPR piece, Anatoly and I had never actually spoken - we worked via email and hadn't heard each other's voices. Until now.

Thanks to Joy for making this happen, and to Eden for such a moving story. It's so valuable and important to hear directly from Anatoly about his world during the war - and, most of all, about his indominable hope.

- Paul

03/19/2023

New Video: A Look Inside 'Still' 

It's been a couple of weeks since 'Still' was released, and I continue to be moved by how it's been received so far. 

Today I'd like to tell you about a little video that shows a preview of the title track, 'Still.' It's based on some video footage that Kaska Records (the Ukrainian group) also sent when they did the original audio recording back in April 2021. 

After some light editing and the addition of piano in the lower right corner, this video brings you into that studio in Kyiv - a look inside one part of how this piece was put together by many remarkably talented hands. 

Be sure to take a look at the video description for more information about the video (for example, where is that other viola that we don't see onscreen?). 

How to Watch It 

  1. At the very top of the page at paulschristiansen.com, or 
  2. Directly on YouTube here: A Look Inside 'Still' - YouTube 

How to Share It 

If this is meaningful to you and you'd like to pass it on, feel free to share the video directly from YouTube, or copy and paste the URL to my web page into an email or social media post: 

https://paulschristiansen.com/ 

Thank you for being part of this. More to come. 

- Paul

01/29/2023

It's Official: 'Still' Is Out Now 

It's official: 'Still' is now streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube music and from paulschristiansen.com (don't forget the "s"). 

You can also support this project with a purchase of the digital album or a limited-edition CD (which turned out really well, I think). 

I hope you find this album meaningful. If you do and you know of someone in your life who might also appreciate it, feel free to share it with them. 

Everything's at paulschristiansen.com. 

Thanks for coming along. More to come. 

- Paul

01/13/2023

Release Date Update 

Quick update: 'Still' is on track for a release in mid-January 2023.

Barring any unexpected delays - major winter storms, pandemics, etc. - the full album will be available via digital download, CD, and streaming on all major platforms in just a few weeks. 

Once the CDs actually arrive (fingers crossed), I'll announce an official release date, when you'll be able to stream and order it from paulschristiansen.com. 

More soon.

- Paul

Welcome 

Hi there -

This is where I'll post updates about the album, including the release date (sometime this fall, fingers crossed).

If you'd like to get these updates in your email inbox before they're posted here, be sure to sign up for my email list using the form above.

Feel free to use the 'Contact' form at the bottom of this page if you have questions or want to get in touch.

Looking forward to sharing this with you.

- Paul

Join my email list for a few updates

(Still no spam, cross my heart)

More Music

Contact