While growing up in the south of France, Paul Larnicol played exclusively in rock bands, but his interests expanded far beyond that. “I think I felt I was a bit stuck,” Paul tells Post-Burnout of this time as a musician. “I love music in general, and really love any type, and I think I felt a lack of freedom.”

Free of his bands’ commitments during the COVID-19 pandemic, Paul found himself in his bedroom, crafting tunes inspired by folk, electronica, and pop. Another distinction between this and his previous projects was that he was now writing lyrics in English.

 “I started to take more risks, if I can say,” Paul says of this experimentation. “I tried to find a style, because it’s really eclectic, but I needed to try and concentrate the creativity around something that is truly me.”

With a new project organically formed, he just had to give it a name, and decided on Lobepine; a bilingually phonetic reference to the French word aubépine. “It’s the hawthorn flower in French,” Paul explains of his choice.

“In the Roman culture, it was a flower of revival; revival of the soul. I was playing in a rock band, so it was a completely new thing that I started, and I really started to feel free in that, so I think it was the picture of that, you know? It was the picture of that, the new revival. I’m breathing again.”

Writing lyrics in English was a deliberate choice, as Paul envisioned expansion beyond France. Taking inspiration from Guy de Maupassant, he adopted a direct and prosaic approach to his lyrics and typically envisions each three songs released in succession to be a standalone trilogy.

Paul wanted to become more familiar with the language he was now writing in and wanted to capture an audience who would understand what he was saying, so he decided to move to an English-speaking country. Initially, he envisioned the United States, but became deterred by the distance from his homeland and the way the country’s culture was shifting.

Growing up, Paul’s parents had been fans of The Pogues, and he liked the Celtic influence, so he decided to move to Dublin, and arrived here a year and a half ago, after already releasing his first two trilogies, but had not really performed live as Lobepine yet.

“When I arrived here, I saw the clout of folk music,” Paul says of his impression of the Irish music scene. “I’ve been mostly at open mics, you know, and a lot of people play folk. All types, you know?

“They play guitar, violin, and all, and it’s really cool. When I see some people, and they’re really mastering the guitar, their style, I’m like, ‘I would really like to play like that!’, you know? So, I think it’s influencing me in that way, mostly. When I see people playing in a folk way, it awakens something in me.”

When Paul first came to Dublin, he initially stayed in a hostel before securing a job, which allowed him to move in as a tenant . With this security, he has been able to play open mic nights, particularly in places like Whelan’s and Sin É, and with Smithfield Creatives.

These showcases have afforded him the ability to learn how to adapt his chill electronica sound that he produced into a live setting, which was an important stepping stone, as he admits that he’s still adjusting to the tech and timing required to do so.

“I have a controller, you know?” Paul says of his set-up. “It’s also a keyboard, but it’s a little controller for Ableton Live, so I play with that. Some sequences, I play. I recorded some loops when I’m playing, so I can play other loops on guitar, and I sample other sequences, so I make the song evolve like that.

“At the beginning, it’s a reflex to take, you know? […] With a band, you’re supported. With the others, you’re not alone on stage, so you don’t feel naked, you know? But, here? You’re completely naked on your own!”

Since moving to Dublin, Lobepine has released another trilogy of music, and last Friday saw Paul drop his second EP, titled He’s Here! Explaining how this EP differs, Paul says, “Previous songs were indie-pop, really. [His first EP] luv.ca has rock songs, you know? So, this EP, I wanted it to be something more electronic, with more synthesisers, electronic drum kits. Something more pop.”

Now fully-rooted in Dublin, Paul is looking to collaborate with some of the city’s great talents. In our interview, he namechecked artists such as Nightshade, Carol Lobo, ARREN, Gabriel Bond, Late Me Dawn, and Debbie MacLachlan as acts he is interested in collaborating with. Until then, Paul is looking to perform his first headline show and to play out of county, so if anyone can help him out, drop him a line! Until then, stream He’s Here!

Lobepine’s new EP, He’s Here!, is out now. You can keep up with Lobepine through Instagram.

Tune into POSTBUROUT.COM Interviews… tonight at 21:00 (IST) to hear this interview in full. Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music Podcasts.

Aaron Kavanagh

Aaron Kavanagh is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Post-Burnout. His writing can also be found in the Irish Daily Star, Buzz.ie, Totally Dublin, The GOO, Headstuff, New Noise Magazine, XS Noize, DSCVRD and more.