The Paws

The Paws’ succinct, pixelated depiction of a trip away with your lover melds meditation with escapism. The duo, Angelina Nonaj and Ben Paulson, have made something magic. Shared as part of the extensive forty-track release, with the approval of the label’s founder aloisus, it’s a peep into the wider experimental but listenable release that stars exciting artists like Isaiah Hull and NWAKKE truly pushing the envelope on weird music that you can still chill to. 

ur love echoes the lo-fi production of ’00s SoundCloud producers; The Paws’ sparse guitar and heavily distorted vocals are a nostalgic balm. Paired with super-zoom shots that create a level of anonymity, the protagonists, on an adventure in nature together in love, are easily relatable. Joyfully, the DIY video and track have a documentary element. The Paws say, “ur love was filmed while simply spending time together: walking in the sun, swimming in the river, driving through a beautiful green valley in Belgium a month ago”. It’s exactly an example of recording and noticing a romantic moment in time.

The life is beautiful release, out tomorrow, marks three years of the label, which also had The Paws perform at a Sameer Project fundraiser at The Horse Hospital. An independent label that curates happenings and operates as a multidisciplinary collective, life is beautiful can do anything. What resonates in the video and album is the gorgeousness of nature and flesh; it’s artistic, human and wholesome. Hopefully it’ll make us put our phones down, set our laptops aside and go for a dip in a river. There’s also a sweet escape at London’s EartH Theatre from 24 to 26 July, when the libiversary festival celebrates three years of the label.