Paul Bingham talks about his origins, influences and latest track ‘So Sick!’

Hot on the trials of his latest release titled ‘So Sick!’ featuring Cole Smith, South African producer and DJ Paul Bingham is looking set to make 2018 his very own success. A resident DJ at the likes of Amnesia & Privilege in Ibiza, the rising DJ has made quite a mark in his latest undertakings – the biggest being the release of his debut album titled ‘Electric Summer‘. Reviewed and touted as a prime set of tracks that will establish his career’s foundation, the album has already turned quite a lot of heads in the industry, with some of his past releases such as ‘Bang’ seeing support from none other than legendary Radio host and taste-maker Pete Tong on his All Gone Pete Tong show. 

With ‘So Sick!’ marking a good start to his 2018, Paul Bingham is getting back into stride to releasing more and more music. We took the opportunity to sit down with him for an exclusive interview where he opens up about his origins, his influences, his collaboration with Cole Smith, the debut album and finally what does 2018 hold in store for the quickly rising Paul Bingham.

Tell us about the origin of your music. How did you discover your sound?

I have always been interested in Dance music ever since I first heard “Children” by Robert Miles. That was really such a beautiful track to me and growing up in the 90’s; rock, grunge and pop were the most popular styles of music I was exposed to. I used to play the guitar and after being exposed to that track I wanted to go more in the electronic direction which is when I started mixing and collecting vinyl. It all progressed through the years into playing at all the clubs in South Africa and eventually wanting to make my own music.

Being influenced during that time with the more overseas sounds of Eric Prydz, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso and Axwell I pushed the Electro sound here in SA as it was predominantly a funky house type of vibe. I guess things evolved over time and with travelling overseas to Ibiza, Barcelona (Sonar) and London yearly I generally grew to like all the different styles of music. In my own productions I try to keep with the times but also put my own flair on things which is generally pumping music that people can really dance hard to. One of my good friends politely gave me the hashtag #bangitlikebingham!

Who do you consider to have been your biggest influences throughout your career that have made an impact on your productions?

Producers & DJ’s that once were my favorites have since evolved in different directions so I believe the influence is provided by anyone old or current or music or an experience at that particular time to enable you to write something meaningful for yourself and your fans but the hardest part is getting your fans to resonate with you. What I’m really trying to say is I feel influenced by everything around me; whether it be a great track, artist, some random sound or thought or even an experience I have. “The only constant thing is change” and that sums up music and the creative aspect of it too…

Your massive track ‘So Sick!’ with Cole Smith peaked at #17 on the Beatport Big Room chart and has gained support from Chuckie, NERVO, Fedde Le Grand, Sick Individuals and Danny Avila. Tell us a bit about how that track came together?

When I was a resident at Amnesia in Ibiza a few years back I actually did a rough version of the track using just the guitar riff which I dropped during the break of another track, naturally the whole crowed started chanting the melody when I turned down the fader. Whilst watching VH1 Classics one day I heard rhe track again and thought it would be cool to incorporate the riff again in one of my original productions. I then sampled a stadium of 60,000 people chanting the “famous chant” and decided to create the track out of it.

I then teamed up with Cole Smith who is one of SA’s top song writers and live performers to do the vocal for me. As I still feel I’m developing my sound I decided to go with my current favorite style to play almost like a future bouncy-big room vibe and it all turned out pretty cool as every time I tested the track the crowd always gets very involved.

Last summer you’ve released your debut album “Electric Summer”. How did the album come to life? And what were the inspirations behind the album? Also, what was the main reason you’ve decided to make your debut album in this stage of your career?

I had been wanting to create a full album for many years and this one actually took me 3 years to make as I didn’t just slap 14 tracks together, each track has a story to it and when I listen to each track I can remember where I was at that apart of life during the years when I made it. Naturally being a perfectionist I probably remade each track two or three times before settling on a version but in the end it was a massive sense of accomplishment for me personally and each track shows the love and diversity I have for all styles of music.

So many of your records have such differing sounds. How do you create such varying sounding tracks while maintaining your signature sound?

That is a difficult one really, I still believe my sound is developing and one day soon it will be something that the masses will like, I like being able to create different styles of productions. To me it’s just music really and I’d like to make music that all people can enjoy. If you listen to my 14 track album and you like one of the tracks then I believed I have made some impact and am grateful for that.

What does 2018 hold in store? Any hints or clues that we could get about future productions and collaborations?

Well “So Sick” has some great remixes coming out and I have a new single out every month from now until the year end. There are a few very emotional tracks that I will be releasing on my own label “Avantinova Recordings” and my weekly radio show “Avantinova Radio” will keep airing worldwide and hopefully pass the 1M listeners per month mark by July this year.

So just like every artist that is passionate about their music I will just keep pushing to get my music out there to as many people as possible and hopefully touch their lives in some way to give then an experience they will remember whether it be during a DJ set or just with a piece of music that I put my heart and soul into…

His latest single ‘So Sick!’ featuring Cole Smith is out on iTunes here. For more information on Paul Bingham, visit his site here.