New Artist Spotlight: Paul Supreme’s ‘Ninja Sword’ Slices Through Conventional EDM
Paul Supreme is a somewhat avant garde house, pop and hip hop artist who began releasing in 2020 with his first album, Golden Hour. His first releases in 2020 and 2021 were more conventional pop/EDM crossover, but recently it’s been his more indie-infused tracks that have been well-received on Spotify. Possibly surprising to some fans of traditional EDM, the addition of more raw, rock-inspired vocals seem to have made all the difference. His newest single, “Ninja Sword” released in early June, is already up to nearly 65,000 streams and climbing while his most popular track, “In a Robe” is about to reach 300k. What helped the rising star gain such notoriety quickly? It seems the key ingredient is authenticity.
Supreme began his own musical journey fronting experimental trip hop groups. He also had some pretty heavy influence growing up as the son of the late Dennis Flemion, a founding member of the infamous 90s alt rock, The Frogs. The Frogs were deep in the 80s and 90s grunge scene which means a young Paul Supreme grew up around the likes of Nirvana, Beck, The Breeders and Smashing Pumpkins, with whom Dennis Flemion toured after the passing of the band’s keyboard player, Johnathon Melvoin, after he passed. It’s clear The Frogs had a lasting influence on Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, because Flemion and Corgan had a very similar vocal style. A style which, is seems, has now been utilized with great success by Paul Supreme.
Within EDM, vocal styles tend to focus on tight control of the vox, both in singing technique and in in production. Even in the rougher areas of bass music like drum & bass and dubstep, the vocals are, while capable of being very emotive, are also highly stylized. With his recent releases like the “Ninja Sword” single and the extremely popular “In a Robe,” Supreme’s vocals are unhinged, raw, and decidedly devoid of loads of engineering. Just like in the grunge and indie bands of his father’s era, this lack of styling creates an extra, dissonant layer to the work, made even more palpable by the very stylized production.
Supreme’s newest track, “First Team All G,” which just dropped this week on July 3, reminds fans that he’s also a skilled rapper. With the same intense, Corgan-like vocal timbre, Supreme winds his way through the trap/house combo production with a mix of grime-style melodic rap and traditional singing, “First Team All G” shows that Paul Supreme is still playing with style. From all his releases and such a diverse pool of style and influence from which to pull, it seems as though Supreme will never run out of ideas for new tracks and new ways to make EDM and pop interesting and different. In the meantime, his unconventional pairing of indie-style vocals and well-produced electronica is clearly working for him.
“Ninja Sword” and “First Team All G” are both available along with the rest of Paul Supreme’s discography on Spotify.
