Paul Child Band

Paul Child Band

Paul Child Band is a group from the United Kingdom that has been active since 2010. It works across folk and rock, and its material is also described as drawing on jazz and funk influences. The band is sometimes abbreviated as PCB.

Formation and early recordings

The project begins with songwriter Paul Child, who works in London as a casino and bar worker in 2008 and makes friends with local session musician and teacher Jim Maving. Maving encourages Child, who is usually reserved about performing in public, to record a rough demo of his songs. Child and Maving develop the material further and bring it to keyboard player Mike Wesson, who arranges studio time for the first demo of Child’s work.

From there, drummer Tommy Bates joins after hearing the initial recording. For the debut EP, the band uses session musicians on bass guitar and violin to complete the line-up. The five-track EP, A Little Room Inside, is released in 2010 as a free online download and is produced by Reading-based producer Damon Sawyer.

Band line-up

Child later adds violinist Kait Farbon, who works as a Steinway piano tuner, and bassist Damien Langkamer, who is studying music full-time at Westminster University. The core musicians named in the project are Bates on drums, Maving on guitar, and Wesson on keyboards, alongside Child’s songs and vocals.

Live activity and style

By 2010, the band is playing venues around London including Camden Barfly, The Spice of Life and The Troubadour. Its music is described as difficult to categorise neatly, with listeners drawn to its combination of unusual vocals, emotive songwriting, meaningful lyrics and a blend of rock, folk, funk and jazz influences.