Traditionally an artsy folk songwriter, explorative musician Paul Appelkamp moved from Sydney to a high hill near Byron Bay in 2010 to write rock infused folk tunes. Amid forests, waterfalls and rivers, he crafted and solemnly refined an album’s worth of soul infused rock tunes.
The epic nature of these new songs demanded Appelkamp give himself a new stage name. Lionheir (pronounced Lionair) was born. The newborn animal was not the heir to material treasures or royal status, but rather he became the instinctual seeker of rare transcendent moments that cannot be bought, bottled or twisted.
With new songs in claws, Lionheir approached record producer Anthony Lycenko (Busby Marou, Pete Murray) in 2011 with the intention of making an album that captured the warmth of 60s soul records and the power of modern indie rock.
Five of Australia’s cream-of-the-crop musicians recorded on the album, including Terepai Richmond (drummer for The Whitlams, DIG, Missy Higgins) and OJ Newcomb (bass player for Band of Frequencies, Afro Dizzi Act).
The album was tracked in January 2012 at Byron Bay’s Studios 301 and the first single Waterfall released in May 2012 followed by the album Lair released in September 2012.
Enter the lair with the lion at St Elmo’s on Sunday.
