Paul Chin is a lifelong student, lover, and explorer of music, which manifests itself in his work as a music producer and DJ. Growing up in the Cayman Islands, importing influence and inspiration from any and everywhere was always ingrained in his sense of identity. Additionally, the ethos of DIY culture and resourcefulness exemplified by his Chinese-Jamaican immigrant parents are part of what drew him to the resilient philosophy of hip-hop while studying classical and jazz in school and private music lessons.
Eventually, his robust musical foundation and scrappy work ethic would meet his insatiable appetite for new and exciting sounds, leading him toward beat-driven electronic music. Since permanently relocating to Toronto, Canada, Paul has embedded himself in the city’s creative fabric. Collaborating and performing alongside resident stalwarts such as Skratch Bastid, Harrison, Tanika Charles, and Shad has afforded him local ambassadorship on stages alongside the likes of Snakehips, Falcons, Toro Y Moi, and Shigeto. His releases all possess a gravitational centre of instrumental hip-hop, but draw his pursuits of jazz, gospel, IDM, disco, garage, dancehall, and anime scores into their orbit. Not content to emulate trendy aesthetics from any one genre, Paul continues to develop his sound, performance, and collaborative work from a diverse spectrum of artists.
Paul is also producing the latest album from Toronto group, Tiger Balme, including their new single Saving Face (Lunar New Year Edition), which dropped last week – check it out here.
Name: Paul Chin
Genre: Some kind of electronic, rooted in hip-hop
Founded: Current incarnation of my musical persona, probably 2011-2012
# of Albums: 4 solo EPs
Latest Release: Full Spectrum, coming March 20th
Latest Single: Take It Or Leave It (featuring Desiree Dawson)
Favourite Restaurant:
Big Trouble Pizza and Omai
Favourite band as a teenager:
A Tribe Called Quest
Favourite band now:
Khruangbin
Guilty Pleasure Song:
In 2020, we don’t feel guilty about the music we love anymore
Live Show Ritual:
Forgetting something, then texting my wife or my housemate to bring it
Favourite local artist:
Tiger Balme (whom I’m very fortunate to be producing) is very special, and their music make me feel a way no one has in a long time
Sneaky Dees nachos, pasta from Terroni or a superfood salad from Fresh?
I make better nachos than Sneaky Dee’s
Queen or College St?
Dundas gang forever
Trinity Bellwoods or High Park, Riverdale or Kew Gardens?
Grange Park, but keep it on the low
EP or LP?
Love a good LP, but fewer artists seem to be able to justify the length these days
Early bird or night owl?
Night owl
Road or studio?
Would love to spend more time on the road, to be honest!
Swiss Chalet or Roti?
Roti, are you dumb dawg?
Where can we follow you?
@ohyeahpaulchin on anything that I’m on (Twitter/Facebook/ Instagram)
Any shows or albums coming up?
The first single ’Take It Or Leave It’ from my upcoming EP ‘Full Spectrum’ is out now! Details for the release show coming soon!
