Paul Thomas Saunders

Paul Thomas Saunders functions as producer, sonic architect, singer, and songwriter, deploying an instantly recognizable emotive high-register voice shaped by his background as a trained choir singer. Although born in Leicester, he began composing and performing seriously during his college years in Leeds, where he has remained based ever since.

Recording alone with guitar, microphone, and computer, he issued his debut solo EP, Four Songs in Twilight, in 2010; three separate labels later reissued the set. He subsequently formed the live ensemble Fever Dreams and supported tours by Low, Blue Roses, Patrick Watson, Forest Fire, and Villagers. A growing regional reputation for compelling performances led to an opening slot at Leeds Live, where critics from the British music weeklies first took widespread notice.

His follow-up EP, Lilac & Wisteria, arrived in 2011 and received near-universal acclaim. Atlantic signed him in early 2012, and he closed that year with another self-recorded release, Descartes Highlands. Throughout 2013 he toured extensively while completing his major-label debut, the full-length Beautiful Desolation, which appeared in April 2014.