Paul Louis Villani is a composer and guitarist based in Melbourne who produces provocative and unconventional music. His new song Sweat Drips is a funky, humorous, and thoroughly artistic expression. The song is self-assured and uninhibited. It is not shy or reserved, but it agitates the listeners into keeping up with its beat.
The song came into inspiration after a television clip in 1970s where Sly Stone and Richard Pryor were both seen laughing out of control on live TV. Same sense of anarchy, delight and transgression is captured in Sweat Drips. The song is based on powerful guitar riffs, dynamic horns and strong bassline that is intense and vibrant. The song is funky, rocky and hip hop in one thrilling manner. The style of singing adopted by Villani is crude, intelligent and natural, with both seriousness and humor.
The peculiarity of Sweat Drips is that it does not follow any rules of music or its expectations. It is not attempting to revive the old funk music or imitate the past. On the contrary, it dissolves genres. Villani revives the spirit of the sincere kind of self-expression that is so difficult to come by in the current times. He refers to his job as audio emotional freedom. The song is dirty, audacious and alive.
Sweat Drips is the preview of his new EP Fully Unchained Creativity Kinetically Overriding Fossilised Frameworks. The single is not only a declaration of his artistic beliefs, but also a threat to the conventional means of music production. It reveals that creativity is not necessarily limited due to the risky attitude of artists. Paul Louis Villani does not just make people dance with the Sweat Drips. He reminds listeners about the feeling of being really free.
Listen to Sweat Drips
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Sweat Drips is an intriguing title—what story or vibe does this track capture?
The vibe / story is connected to the way the music and lyrics should hopefully make you feel: Happy, cheeky, maybe make you wiggle your hips a little. If all that happens the song has done its job!
What inspired you to create Sweat Drips, and how does it reflect your
current artistic vision?
I was doom scrolling at 2am when a video of a 1970’s live TV interview of Sly Stone and Richard Pryer popped up. They were as high as kites and I giggled heaps while watching it the first time. I watched it again and again, till finally my giggling stopped and I found myself in awe of the fact that they were in a state of freedom from fear of the consequences of their actions.
A state, at this stage of my adult life, I almost have no idea how to achieve. My current artistic vision hasn’t changed since I stopped writing for the bands that I was a part of. What ever my creative flow creates, I’ll just run with it and see where it finishes organically. Not everything I create needs to be heard or seen and
that’s ok too.
Can you walk us through the creative process behind this single? Any
memorable moments?
So, the drum track was all from a sampler disk I had collected from the 90’s. I used to buy sampler magazines that had zip disks attached and most of these had 10-15 royalty free drum, bass or keys samples. As soon as I had that opening guitar and horn intro riffs written I knew exactly what type of
drum samples I was going to use.
The lyrics were the easiest part. I applied that freedom from fear of consequences to the very first line of the song and it was all written in 10 minutes. The horns are all midi programming, I didn’t use a midi keyboard this time and just typed/clicked in the notes and velocity as required, there’s not a lot of brass so it didn’t take that long.
All guitar and bass is me playing through my DAW into Logic X. This single was recorded in early August when I was suffering from frozen shoulder (Left) and recording bass guitar almost destroyed me, especially reaching down to the first fret 🙁 I recorded my vocals to get a melody line then uploaded them into Suno and created about 30 generations before I settled on what you hear now. All mixing and mastering is done in Logic X.
The energy in Sweat Drips feels electric—what emotions or experiences
drove that intensity?
I guess the track has this vibe because emotionally and creatively I truly “let go”. This isn’t my usual ‘go to’ style of writing or playing guitar but this time around this is what the output of my creative side provided. Lately,
I’ve truly been trapped in a mental loop, trying to understand how I got to this point in life where I cannot make free choices due to the impact to loved ones around me. Usually I just shrug these feelings off and silently (and happily) succumb to “such is life”… for whatever reason the past two months I can’t shake off the feeling of emotional and financial slavery I’ve allowed myself to accept.
Even having to silently accept the way people actually treat me and because of financial implications I am submissive, complicit and behave slave-like and robotic. The only thing that really takes a beating at my age is my health but I still get shit done. I’m good at not letting people around me down regardless of the unseen cost.
How does this single showcase your growth or evolution as an artist?
I don’t think it does! I’ve always played and written in a multi-genre way. I have leaned towards a heavier rock/metal style for most of my life. It’s only my opinion but I feel those two genres are more fun to play live, so I guess maybe this track leans towards a little more personal evolution?
If that’s the case, wait till you hear tracks from my upcoming EP “Fully Unchained Creativity Kinetically Overriding Fossilised Frameworks”. Hip-Hop, Rap, Electro-Swing, Opera and Rock, all spread out over 8 tracks, maybe that really captures my musical evolution?
Were there any unique production techniques or collaborations involved
in making Sweat Drips?
No, my writing, recording and mixing ways are very predictable and I enjoy having complete control over this part of my life so when anyone pops up with (and there’s always someone) “Why don’t you try this?” or “You know what you should do?”, I have a very simple and enjoyable response: Fuck off
and tell someone who cares 🙂
What do you hope listeners will feel or take away after hearing this
track?
This is not a deep emotional track. Far from it. This is emotional freedom in audio!
I really hope that this track, at the very least makes the listener smile, perhaps after a couple of listens the listener sings along to the chorus and ultimately, if it makes the listeners hips wiggle a little… job done!!
Does Sweat Drips hint at what’s coming next in your music career?
Definitely!! As I mentioned previously, this track ties in very nicely with all the other tracks on my upcoming EP due out late November.
How do you balance storytelling and sound to create such an engaging
single?
In some songs that can be a little tough and takes some work. This track was easy as. It may not sound like it to others but the lyrics and music work together so well. Once I had the lyrics I knew what this track was going to sound like, it was almost like there was no other choice!
Are there any plans for a music video or live performances to bring Sweat Drips to life visually and energetically?
No. There is a lyric video out in YouTube land but that will be it.
I will not be performing live again.
I metaphorically “pulled the plug” on that part of my life as I have a growing family and other commitments that require me to be there in a full capacity. In saying that it does feel like I have amputated a part of my existence that made me feel complete.
If there was a pill I could take that would erase every minute of my existence as a live performer (bands, solo, stage plays
etc) from my memory, I would take two. I would be happier without those memories in my head so I could exist without knowing who I really am.
