Hailing from England’s Isle of Wight, Paul Butler is who NME calls “a maker of some damn fine albums”. A founding member and producer of psych rock band The Bees, Butler and co famously recorded the band’s debut in a garden shed, leading to a record deal with Virgin Records and a Mercury Prize nomination for ‘Sunshine Hit Me’ in 2002.
The Bees quickly gathered acclaim from critics and peers alike, which led Butler to produce Devendra Banhart’s first major label release, ‘What Will We Be.’ He would soon return to the Isle of Wight to produce and record The Bees’ ‘Every Step’s A Yes’ – and, that same year recorded and produced North London artist Michael Kiwanuka’s debut album ‘Home’ (Polydor Records) in his own Steam Room Studios. This led to his second Mercury Prize nomination an even decade after the first.
More recently, Butler picked up a Grammy nomination in 2015 for Jarle Bernhoft’s Islander, which he produced, collaborated with Danger Mouse on Kiwanuka’s Love & Hate, and produced the Stax-inspired LP Sea of Noise from St. Paul and the Broken Bones. Now based in Northern California, Butler is currently recording and mixing the forthcoming record from Caroline Rose.