Taking a break from wrapping up the final track of his forthcoming EP—and whilst gathering sustenance at a Whole Foods in Indiana—long-time music producer Alex Botwin expressed his excitement for Paper Diamond's Madison debut this Thursday.
"I'm geared up to play some new music, stuff you're not really going to hear anywhere else," he said. "I have some music from the new EP, I've got special remixes that are unreleased that I made just for this tour... It's always exciting to come back and it's a beautiful town."
While it is his Madison debut under the budding moniker Paper Diamond, some local electronic music lovers might see Botwin as a familiar face. He has performed here previously as Alex B and with his former band Pnuma Trio.
In fact, Botwin has been touring professionally in one musical act or another since he was 19. Now, boasting 28 years of life, it is safe to say his career has grown with him.
Though Paper Diamond puts out music on fellow Colorado artist Pretty Lights' label (Pretty Lights Music), he also has his own brand Elm and Oak stationed online and in Boulder, Col., which stands for Exclusive Limited Merchandise and One of A Kind, and gathers inspiration from the artists and creative minds of today.
Botwin is fairly on top of all things current and it shows in his work. He said fans should expect a large variety of electronic music during his set at the Majestic.
"You're going to get a whole bunch of different styles, there's not going to be too much of one thing," Botwin said. "There's going to be some moombahton... beats-type stuff... some dubstep, but it's not going to be too much of anything where like you can't bring anyone."
He said for those fans with friends on the fence over the electro-music genre, this show is the perfect opportunity to get them hooked.
"If anyone comes to see it one time, I'm sincerely convinced that you can convert someone [to fandom]," he said.
On Paper Diamond's new EP Paragon, expected to drop within the next couple of months, Botwin expands beyond his typical beats and incorporates singing with lyrics coming both from him and contributing bands for one stellar swirl of electro bliss—at least if the rest of the album is anything comparable to released singles "Can We Go Up" and "Better Things."
"I'm really leaving it down to creativity and what's going to be best for the track itself," he explained.
Yet this dedication to the pursuit of well-produced music and a sick performance is nothing new for a veteran of the industry like Botwin.
"You know, music and artwork has pretty much been my entire existence for the last, almost 10 years, and it's really culminated into this Paper Diamond thing," he said.
Botwin's touring routine, sometimes as strenuous as 220 days on the road, at times sounds vaguely reminiscent of shampoo instructions: perform, party, repeat.
"It's like a daily craziness when you're touring around with a group of 10 plus people and everybody's partying and having fun," he ruminated. "Everyday is definitely an adventure."
"We're always smoking and we're always listening to music," he continued. After consulting with a crew member he confirmed, at the moment—and as far as high-jams are concerned—Whiz Khalifa gets the most airtime on the bus by far, though Little Dragon takes the top all-around spot for this producer. Botwin also has another current favorite: ginger beer.
"Have you ever had ginger beer mixed with tequila?" he asked. "It's a jam. That's my new drink of this tour-ginger beer, tequila, with a lime."
Perhaps Madison fans, too, will partake in this quirky delight before making their way over to get down at The Majestic.
