Galen & Paul

When the daughter of an eccentric ‘60s genius meets the former bassist of one of the most influential bands in rock history, we perk up our ears, intrigued and enticed by the unlikely pairing... Under the Galen & Paul banner, Galen Ayers and Paul Simonon’s proposal is especially tasty because it’s a far cry from their past work. Together, the daughter of Kevin Ayers and the former bassist of the Clash look back to the duos of the last century, like Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood. And the Qobuzissime album they came up with just after the pandemic, Can We Do Tomorrow Another Day?, has the air of a troubadour record.

It’s a long journey where the islands are the styles. Viscerally European to the core (they sing in English and Spanish and declare their love for Paris), their album, produced by Tony Visconti and featuring a certain Damon Albarn, is riddled with mariachi and reggae sounds, sixties French chanson and Spanish pop, cha-cha-cha and tavern ambience. How did their tandem come about? Why are they so assertive about their European identity? And how did their respective pasts inform their album? The very cool Galen & Paul come to the table exclusively for Qobuz!