Paul Stone has built his musical life around patience, close relationships and work that carries the weight of lived experience. The Yorkshire songwriter leads Paul Stone & The Basement Collective from a professional studio beneath his family home, where six musicians record together and shape each song through real-time interaction. Alongside music, Stone runs property development businesses, serves his village community and raises four children—responsibilities that have given his writing a clear interest in loyalty, resilience and the ways people care for one another.

The latest single, Brother, centres on friendship, loyalty and the importance of supporting one another through difficult periods. Warm ensemble playing gives the song an intimate character, while its message reflects the values at the heart of Paul Stone & The Basement Collective. Support from BBC Radio 2 and Jazz FM, a placement on NBC’s The Blacklist and the official theme for the Tour de Yorkshire have carried Stone’s work far beyond that basement. A meeting with Diane Warren in Los Angeles gave him an early vote of confidence, while the collective he has assembled now provides a lasting structure for his songs. In this interview, Paul Stone discusses the friendship behind Brother, the musicians who transform his demos, the decade he devoted to family and business, and the principles guiding the catalogue he is building with The Basement Collective.

Hi Paul, it is a pleasure to have you with us. The name The Basement Collective immediately places the listener inside a real working space, beneath the family home where these recordings take shape. When did that basement first begin to feel like the home of a serious musical project?

I only found a picture the other day of me and the dog ‘Rufus’ down there accessing it by ladder surrounded by walls of Clay.  I knew then this was my route back to music and it focussed me. It first felt like a serious project when Jim Corry first played his Saxophone down there and the Room sounded great, it has such natural intensive sound from the dense nature of the studio walls.  Me and the guys got together that night and played through a few tunes, way before the Console made its entrance.  Felt so great! 

Brother carries the line “I can be there if you let me,” which gives the person receiving support an active role in the exchange. The wording is gentle, precise and unusually aware of personal boundaries. Which moment gave you that line?

So many people I know, often the greatest have such strong Shells.  It’s tough to get past that even when you know they’re hurting and are clearly going to need you. The Lyric was my blunt way of saying ‘open up’ I’m here and will do whatever I can to help to the man that I call the ‘Viking’ 

Six musicians contribute to The Basement Collective, and the project depends on the character each person brings into the room. When a new song reaches the group, who usually makes the first move that changes it from Paul Stone’s composition into a Basement Collective recording?

A great question and so glad that you asked! It’s so intense down there as we all want the right thing and we’re all fully invested.  These guys are far better musicians than myself and each song takes its natural lead. ‘Embers’ for example was a vibey arrangement brought into the session by Jim Corry with some amazing chords/changes. ‘Brother’ was Arranged by Jamie Taylor who added that instrumental section which we all love. What’s so cool about the project is that we all have input to create that human vibe. For example there’s no drum part, bass part or specific Key riffs and that’s what make the creative pot special for me.  6 guys trying to navigate a way to present the song and create something we’re all proud to release. 

You built a professional studio beneath the same home where you are raising four children. That arrangement places music inside family life rather than separating it into another building or another part of the week. What has your family taught you about the way you work in that room?

My family Inspire a lot of what goes on in that room. ‘With Love You’re Already There’ a lyric taken from ‘Embers’ highlights it.  I’m hopefully showing my kids ‘Never give up’ and do whatever makes you happy.  What family life does is create very intense moments, as parents we run on fumes.  So when a recording date is planned there’s a big lead up to that to be ready.  I’ll often find myself down there falling asleep in the early hours. 

Your daughter’s voice entered Brother during a microphone check and stayed in the final recording. A planned session suddenly captured a small family moment that belonged to that exact day. What went through your mind when you heard her voice inside the finished mix for the first time?

It was so innocent and right for the song. Trying to find the right colour in a backing vocal isn’t easy and they are generally added post production.  I’d never planned on BV’s as the recording sessions are stripped back so we can reproduce this live.  I just could never get the counter melody of ‘Yeah yeah yeah’s’ out of my head so had to keep them in once we tried them.  Reeva only asked me the other day if she could sing on the next songs now we’re on radio, I realised that this could be a spark for her down the line. 

Almost a decade passed while you concentrated on raising a family and building businesses. Returning to songwriting after such a substantial chapter must have changed your sense of time, ambition and success. Which belief about a musical career had changed most by the time you came back?

Just Earlier today we made B Playlist on JazzFM for the second week, now our Third National playlist and last friday I was on bbc radio, so much is happening for us right now.  When I made the return to music it was to fill a void that only music could fill. I’m not sure anything has changed and I’ve really thought hard about this question.  I do feel as a band we’re on the road to achieving that ‘feeling of success’ that we all strive for whatever that may be in life 

Your recordings favour musicians performing together, with the arrangement developing through real interaction in the studio. That approach gives everyone a degree of influence over the final result. How do you recognise the moment when a performance has reached the right emotional balance?

We generate ideas in the rehearsal part of the Studio then It just gets played through a few times and gets tracked, when it’s good we know and casually move on. 

I might mix it weeks if not months later. I do have a thing where we don’t listen back to identify mistakes as we’re more about capturing the performance than perfection.  These guys are monsters, they could anything from Atonal Free Jazz to popular music and all stand tall in their own artistry.  What amazes me on every session is that all ego’s are left upstairs and the guys play what they think is right for the song. 

That’s being a pro musician in my book. 

Meeting Diane Warren in Los Angeles became an important point in your confidence as a songwriter. Major encounters often stay with us through one brief exchange, gesture or observation. Which detail from that meeting still returns to you today?

I was sat in a chair listening to Julie, Diane and Philip talk about possibilities with an incredible Song of Diane’s. (Most of them are) Diane stopped the conversation and said ‘Paul’s the artist’… the subject was more about arrangement and music Sync.  When Diane referred to me as ‘the artist’ I kind of slumped in my chair in shock.  Diane then took me into her writing room which was one of the coolest moments ever as I knew how rare it was for her to take people in there.  Now that room does have a Vibe!! 

Brother began during your friend’s treatment and now exists alongside the knowledge of his recovery. A song written inside uncertainty can acquire another life once the outcome becomes known. How has your own relationship with the song changed since his recovery?

It was a vessel for me at the time of my friends Stage 4 diagnosis and a way to express my emotion sat at the piano.  In such difficult times I had to find a way of remaining positive and uplifting as I felt this was my role and my way of helping him through his Journey ahead.  I now see ‘Brother’ as a song of Hope for so many in similar situations.  Even if it breaks down one persons shell to let someone in and help that’s a great thing and exactly what music can do. 

Someone once divided the world into “good people, bad people and proper people,” and the final category clearly stayed with you. “Proper” carries a distinct meaning in Yorkshire speech, with ideas of character, conduct and reliability gathered inside one word. Who was the first person in your life who showed you exactly what a proper person is?

My Parents, both very much ‘Proper People’ and the most supportive human beings I’ve ever known. 

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