A relocation often forces a songwriter to rethink how they operate, swapping out longtime habits for new company and unfamiliar surroundings. For Paul Banks, setting up home in Berlin has quietly turned into a full-scale creative detour. Over the past three years, the Interpol frontman has been writing and recording an album alongside former Liars guitarist Aaron Hemphill and London drummer Raife Burchell. The material is finished enough that Banks expects to get it out into the world sometime next year, though the outfit does not yet have a record label attached to it.
Finding a moniker has proven tricky enough that Banks admitted he would gladly settle on Berlin Project, if that kind of straightforward title passed muster. The core connection between Banks and Hemphill is anything but recent, tracing back twenty years to when Liars joined Interpol on the road in 2004. Both men now reside permanently in the German capital. Hemphill played a central role in helping Banks adjust to the practical realities of expatriate life, including the unglamorous business of sorting out German health insurance.
Burchell entered the frame through an entirely different channel. The drummer crossed paths with Banks through boxing rather than through music industry circles or rehearsals, and his regular visits to Berlin from London made working together feasible. Banks has spoken with particular admiration about Hemphill throughout this process, singling out the guitarist's character and distinct contribution during the extended writing sessions that occupied the trio across the last thirty-six months.
Carving out time away from Interpol is a familiar pattern for Banks. He put out his first solo effort under the alter ego Julian Plenti in 2009, followed three years later by an eponymous record credited to his own name. More recently, he convened with producer Josh Kaufman and The Walkmen drummer Matt Barrick to form Muzz, releasing their debut in 2020. This latest German three-piece feels grounded in immediate, local kinship rather than remote studio coordination, developing slowly in neighborhood rooms.
Living in Berlin has already altered the mechanics of Banks' main band. On Interpol's recent record, This Mirror Weighs A Ton, the backing tracks came together during early jam sessions in New York, but Banks handled the lyrics only after returning to his European base. His day-to-day experience in the city looks very different from the reckless energy that drew him there during early touring years. These days, he avoids the famous club circuit, spending time instead around quieter districts full of young families and taking his cues from the tempo of the streets outside his front door.
Interpol had to scrap their planned December appearances alongside Bloc Party at Olympia London after running into unexpected logistical snags, but Banks has plenty to show for his time off the road. The immediate question is where the three-year-old recordings with Hemphill and Burchell will land, and what this quiet Berlin partnership actually sounds like when it steps into daylight.
