For many, the arrival of hard lockdown measures meant limitations on productivity, but for local singer and songwriter, Paul Renwick, this was the ideal time to create masterful melodies to be shared with the world.
After two and a half years of fine tuning his unique sound, Renwick’s first EP, Double Comfort Safari, has been launched on streaming platforms. Renwick developed as a musician on the local rock scene, starting out as a bassist where he played with Summersalt and later Five Fold, which included the Klynsmith brothers of Gangs of Ballet.
The indie musician’s sound evolved as he had opportunities to rock alongside Daryl Swart, the drummer of Tree63, and Esjay Jones of Stealing Love Jones, before taking on the role as frontman for the three-piece, indie-rock band, Kiev.
“When we went into the first lockdown, I got in touch with my former bandmate, Josh Klynsmith, to work on my solo EP. Under Josh’s direction, five tracks were selected and produced, with the first release named Seven years old, the age at which I wrote my first song,” said Renwick.
He added that growing up in a musical home was how his passion for the art form emerged at such a tender age with inspiration drawn from listening to his parents 60s and 70s LP collection featuring artists like the Beatles, Paul Simon and Bob Marley. Renwick drew further inspiration from artists such as Radiohead, Blur and Travis, followed later by Coldplay, Midlake and Phoenix.
“The project name, Double Comfort Safari, came from the title of one of my favourite books, The Double Comfort Safari Club which forms part of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series by author Alexander McCall Smith. After reaching out to the author, I was granted permission to use the name for his music,” said Renwick.
Josh Klynsmith played drums, added backing vocals and produced the EP and Rusti Rossouw, a well-known name on the South African music scene, mixed and mastered it. The genre cuts across, indie-pop, indie-electronic, bedroom-pop and alternative-pop with the sound resting on an eclectic mix of synth layers and textures, simple guitar work with a strong groove element. The vocals drift along with melancholic, yet hopeful, melodies and traditional African, Arabic and Asian influences can be heard throughout.
“My songs are inspired by having to face some of life’s sometimes dark valleys, yet holding onto hope and never giving up,” explained Paul. “My lyrics are conversational, and I try to reflect on issues with an emotional honesty. My core desire is to share my music and experiences so that I can bring encouragement to people,” added Renwick.
Seven years old is the first release of the five-track EP, with the second release, Mountains, set to release out on 17 July. For updates on Renwicks work follow ‘Double Comfort Safari’ on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
