Patrick Paige II’s debut album Letters of Irrelevance arrives on May 18th, and as a preview, Paige, most known for his work as the bassist for The Internet, has dropped off two previous singles. These included the Syd and Kari Faux-assisted double track “On My Mind/Charge It To The Game” and the solo “Voodoo."
Ahead of the project’s arrival, the musician spoke to Pigeons & Planes about the effort’s inspiration, touching on the death of his mother, a falling out with his sister, and a now-ended battle with alcoholism that all weaved their way into his upcoming offering.
“To be completely honest, I had been working on this for like two years, and Prelude actually came about because it was originally going to be an album,” he said, referring to his 2015 full-length project. “But those instrumentals I picked, I really liked and didn’t want to just sit on them in the process of taking forever to make an album, so I put them out as a beat tape. I did performances and all kinds of shit with those and it actually went pretty well. Now’s the time because I’ve gone through so much and garnered so much experience and had to get it out some kind of way, you know what I’m saying? Because I got tired of drinking every fucking day and smoking and I was like, “Alright, I need to find another outlet.”
For Paige, the new project’s title stems from his journey in overcoming the past, he explains. At a certain point, the sentiments that accompany each track, or his letters, will be irrelevant once he gets everything off his chest.
“I hope my story can help somebody,” he declares. “I want people to see the light at the end of the tunnel, because there were a lot of times when I didn’t. I didn’t feel like there was a light at the end of the tunnel, but I just kept going. How I made it, I have no idea, I thank God first and foremost. A lot of times, I still have doubts and questions but there’s obviously somebody higher than me orchestrating all of this. There’s obviously a reason I’m still alive today. I definitely want people to understand and see that I made it through and I feel better today.
