About the Black Gold album

The new Paul Oxley's Unit album was an idea who's time had come. The band were performing more and more gigs during 2014 and the growing audiences were asking for new material, a reasonable request seeing as the band had not released an album since 1996. Paul took a break in Spain to concentrate on writing but didn't produce a single track, however, when he arrived back in Finland he managed to write all the songs for the album in a period of two weeks. When the band heard the demos they got really excited and couldn't wait to rehearse the songs.
It took 2 years from that point to finalise the album, mostly because Paul wanted to go independent, after having released all the previous albums through Sony and now determined not to compromise on any part of it. This meant setting up a record company (Starshape) and having to gather a team of people to work on the business side of the project.

The vision and concept of the album came very early. "The title 'Black Gold' just popped into my head" explains Paul. "It's really a reference to oil, but in my mind it's a general term for all fossil fuels and the general unsustainable lifestyle that we all seemed to be locked into. 'Hallow fields' is a place where I used to go fishing as a boy. It was just a small pond but it was paradise to the kids of the area, at All Hallows school in Wythenshawe, Manchester. We used to set up our fishing tackle behind the bushes before dawn and then sneak down to the pond so as not to scare the fish. One morning we tackled up as usual but when we went to cast in, we found the pond had been filled in and all the fish were gasping and dying in puddles. It was heartbreaking and I never forgot it. It was rumoured that a child had nearly drowned in the pond so the school filled it in with rubble. You may ask what that has to do with oil and I have to confess, not a lot," Explains Paul " but this idea of a complete disregard for nature in the disguise of progress is what stimulated me to write the song."

'Black Gold' is not an environmental album, however. The subject matter is wide and varied: Here's a brief explanation of the lyrics behind the rest of the songs:

Track 2. Our little secret is about unrequited love, although I can't tell you more or it wouldn't be a secret.
Track 3. The Prisoner is about feeling isolated and trapped in your surroundings.
Track 4. Eyes Open is about the fact that the internet has opened up our eyes to a lot of shady dealings by governments, banks, major companies and other organisations that went pretty much unchecked.
Track 5. Helsinki Town is really a good old sing along and celebration of life in Helsinki. It's a little tongue in cheek and not meant to be taken too seriously.
Track 6. Monkey business is a very special song to me and very often makes me cry when I sing it. It's about my kids going to school when they were young and basically being brought up by somebody else. I missed them like crazy to the extent that we almost educated them at home but we actually found them a nice school so they didn't turn out so bad ha ha.
Track 7. Who we are is a rather deep song about relationships and questioning the spiritual aspect of them.
Track 8. On a Roll is a celebration of the fact that we are still rocking after 35 years. It's a great singalong on the gigs and has a cool 80's synth riff, blasting through the whole song.
Track 9. Lifeline is a song written with the fans in mind. Many have stuck with us over the years and have been very supportive and in fact, kept me going with encouragement when I was having doubts about this crazy business. It's also about a personal relationship too.
Track 10. Is a simple Dylan-esque/Eagles type, acoustic song that wonders why the human race can't simply get its act together and figure out a way to live in peace. How Hard can it Be? after all.

1. Black gold
2. Our little secret
3. The prisoner
4. Eyes open
5. Helsinki town
6. Monkey business
7. Who we are
8. On a roll
9. Lifeline
10. How hard can it be?