Present Paradox is the indie psych-rock project led by Dortmund-based musician David Kleinekottmann, which is propelled by the ethos of creating something profound and concrete in an era of disposable singles and algorithm-chasing releases. New album A Vibrant Sea is the noteworthy manifestation of this outfit’s spirit, which immerses listeners in eight richly-textured tracks. Throughout the record, Kleinekottmann blends post-punk tension, art-rock ambition and electronic unease to tap into the fragile reality of identity and emotion. It’s not about easily accessible catharsis, but rather this album urges listeners to lean into one’s true feelings. It’s a deliberate journey drawn out through delay-soaked guitars, subtle strings, pulsing rhythms, and emotionally restrained vocals. From the protracted disquiet of title-track ‘A Vibrant Sea’ through to the spacious closing number ‘White Paper’, this is an album that rewards patience. When you take in the overproduced 24/7 music industry, it’s releases like this that can be quiet act of rebellion. For On The Record, we caught up with Kleinekottmann to discuss the imagery behind the title, his recording process, sonic influences and why A Vibrant Sea insists on being heard as a complete work.
Welcome to Unrecorded! For those who aren’t already familiar with Present Paradox, can you introduce yourself?
To cut a long story short: the project began back in the early 2010s, with the first releases coming out in 2013, and EPs have been released regularly ever since. Following the pandemic, I moved on to releasing full-length albums, starting with *Caesura* and my longest album to date, *A Trace To Keep Control* (2024). It is essentially a pure DIY project; I handle the recordings and releases myself, whilst guest and session musicians help me out with instruments I cannot play myself and add wonderful improvisations.
Congratulations on the recent release of your new album! The title hints towards the natural world, but it also goes beyond that into something perhaps supernatural, so how does this imagery match the concept of your record?
I would describe it as a kind of metaphor. I also like to use nature metaphors in my lyrics to evoke certain images. That’s really what it’s all about: creating images. It’s like sitting on a train, listening to music and watching the landscape rush by – the music, but also the landscape, create a certain atmosphere. It’s not so much something fixed, but rather something fluid.
Which “vibrant” colour or texture would you assign to your album? And why?
It’s not just a single colour, but it’s definitely not a colour palette either. I think it consists of harmonious colours, such as blue and orange. The same goes for the texture: it’s sand, but sometimes it’s water too – sometimes both at the same time..
The title-track is composed from gentle rhythms and lingering unease, so what’s the story behind this single?
It’s not really a story, but more of a certain mood. It’s as if you’re heading towards a specific goal, almost reaching it, but then you’re pulled away from it and have to start all over again. So you feel as though you’re stuck in a loop, without knowing when you’ll finally land. But being in that loop can also be alluring and have a certain beauty to it, doesn’t it?
There’s a constant tension between digital precision and analog warmth. Do you see those as opposing forces or complementary ones?
Definitely the last one; in the digital era, I don’t think it makes sense to distinguish between digital, electronic and analogue instruments. They all have their own sounds that can enrich the world of music. I mean, Radiohead do exactly that, at least since ‘Kid A’.
Closing song ‘White Paper’ really explores the idea of sound and space, so what impression did you want to leave the listeners with here?
It’s great that you mention this track – I mean, it’s the quietest of them all. It’s a fairly simple piano melody with very soft drum sounds in the background, but I liked the idea of gradually adding more and more very gentle synth layers over time to create a sense of depth or spaciousness. At the end, you might get the feeling that it’s not quite finished, as if there were still a few blank pages left in the book.
Are there specific recording tricks, limitations or happy accidents that ended up defining the sound of this LP?
I could go on forever about these things, but what made these recordings special was that I tried out certain delay techniques on the guitar that I’d picked up from Jonny Greenwood and Robert Fripp. So you play just a single note on the guitar, but sometimes it’s delayed – say, in an eighth-note pattern – so you can create interesting rhythms with it. There were also more than two tracks where I simply used the first take of my vocal track – I mean, that’s quite rare; normally it takes several attempts, but this time I did a lot of vocal recordings in a relatively short space of time, especially during the sessions at Twistesee in Germany.
You’ve cited artists like The Smile, Nick Cave and Squid as reference points, so what qualities from those artists and bands have resonated most with you?
Well, they’re very different artists with very different approaches. When you’re not yet that well-established as a musician, you have to find artists with a similar vibe or approach to describe your music, so that listeners know what to expect. I like the creative energy of Squid, the jazzy Radiohead vibes of The Smile, and the honesty in Nick Cave’s music. But these are just a few influences, though perhaps The Smile is the most obvious one in the current production
What else do you hope that listeners will take away from these songs?
I just hope that the album takes listeners on a kind of exciting journey and that they can relate to it in some way.
Following the release of the LP, what will be next on the horizon for you?
I’ll definitely be playing some of these tracks live, backed by my friend and talented musician Danny Elevator – hopefully very soon. And well, these recording sessions were really productive, so there’ll be another project down the line.
You can also find the title-track ‘A Vibrant Sea’ in our Indie Rockers playlist.
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