A day in the life of Paul Byrne

Paul Byrne is a busy man. Juggling between the design studio he is part of, Village Green, and his life as a DJ and music website owner (he runs Test Pressing, where he showcases music that fits loosely into the Balearic genre), it comes as no surprise that he asked us to meet him at his office. Ideally located a stone’s throw from the lively Broadway Market, it’s a streamlined space filled with records, books, and ongoing project works. He sat with us to tell us everything about his love for organic products, cycling to work, and how he manages to find a balance between music and design.

Hi Paul. Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Paul Byrne. I’m 44. I oversee a website called Test Pressing. I have a pseudonym, Apiento, I have a show on NTS online radio, and I make music with various people. I’m also part of a design studio called Village Green. We work with Nike, the Tate Modern, the Barbican Centre, and lots of global brands. That’s it in a nutshell.

When did you launch Test Pressing?

Test Pressing started pretty much 10 years ago. First of October 2008. It’s a total labour of love, to be honest with you. It’s a music website. We just share music, review music, interview people. We have a show on NTS once a month. It’s quite enough to me because it takes a lot of time to get the music together. We have guests, too. NTS is a very nice thing to be a part of. They believe in finding specialists and letting them do what they want. I’ve never been told what to do in my show, they just let me do whatever. It’s great, it’s a luxury.

The music you play and highlight on Test Pressing has kind of a Balearic vibe to it. How did you first become interested in that genre?

I first became aware of Balearic music in the early 90’s. One of my best friends, a guy called Phil Mison, was a DJ at Café del Mar in Ibiza when it was still very good. Now, it has changed, but back then it was just a bar in the middle of nowhere and Phil was making me these cassettes of music, which would run from Penguin Café Orchestra to deep techno records or classical music, and Ennio Morricone… That was kind of when I understood the spread of the music. Naturally, music moves on. With Test Pressing we have a broader range of things we cover. I think sometimes music is seasonal: Balearic music sounds different to my ears in winter. During the wintertime, I’ll listen to nice, slow techno, deeper music, more world stuff… I think for us, it’s more about everything that is aside from the mainstream. It’s about having open ears.

How do you manage to find a balance between your work at the studio, and what you do for Test Pressing?

We have music on all day long. We probably listen to NTS half the day. It’s just natural. Everyone is interested in music in the studio: we have someone that is into mad Japanese music, someone else into reggae… None of it is bad, very rarely you’ll be like: “turn this off”. We’re surrounded by it. Luckily for me, I can just work Test Pressing around everything else. It’s just a natural thing to do: you wake up and listen to a record, or someone would be like “you should hear this”. It’s amazing. I’ve met a lot of people around the world, and we just send each other music.

What exactly is your work at Village Green?

I’m on the business side of it. I don’t design. I work hand in hand with the clients, bring new business in, work with the projects from start to finish. I work with the creative director, Seb, and we often do meetings together. I’m more into looking after the budgetary side of things, and he’ll take care of the creative side.

At what time do you wake up?

I wake up at 7 everyday. I’m learning piano at the moment so I get out of bed and play the piano for 40 minutes. It’s quite a nice way to start the day! I used to do 30 minutes of yoga, but playing the piano and drinking beer the night before has replaced juicing and yoga! (laughter). It’s much more fun!

You have quite an early start. At what time are you at your desk?

We start at 10 here, but I try to get in for 9.30 everyday. I live in South London, so it’s about an hour into work, and I do part of my commute on my bike. I try to avoid central London as much as possible to make my journey as pleasant as I can. My bike is a fold-up bike, so I can put it on the train. I could cycle to work, but I haven’t braved it yet, it’s a bit too much! I leave home at 8.30, stop by the bakery to get a nice loaf of bread for the office and here we are.

Talk us through a standard day of work...

I have a lot of emails, 2 or 3 meetings about projects during the day, then the rest of the day is about dealing with ongoing projects. I’m pretty regular, I always make sure I have one hour in the middle of the day to go and walk to the bookshop. We work until 6.30 but sometimes we’ll stay if there are things we need to deliver. It’s a lovely atmosphere in here so, after 5.30 if you want a beer or something, there is always beer, wine… On the way back, We have a beautiful canal that takes us down to the train, which then takes me back to South London.

What kind of products do you use in the morning?

I’m pretty lazy when it comes to grooming. My routine is about streamlining. I even make my clothes more neutral, so I have fewer choices to make. I tend to use organic products: body wash, face wash, hair wash, toothpaste… I shave every couple of days. If I have a big meeting, I’ll shave, but not otherwise. For brands, I like to switch. I’ll use brands like Dr. Organic, Yes To… The Horace products smell like the kind of products you want to use carefully, and they look nice. We work in design, so we’re very careful about it: they’re really good-looking products. It’s clearly a well thought-out brand. It’s those touches that connect to audiences.

How did you start using organic and natural products?

I think it went hand in hand with looking at my diet, and becoming a vegan. I pay more attention to the things I’m consuming.

Do you manage to take some time off from work?

These last four months, I’ve learned to relax and not care for the first time in the last four years. Before that, there was always something to do. I was also running a record label for 2 Many DJ’s, designed by Thomas from ILL Studio, which took a lot of my spare time. Now, I like to just get in and do nothing. I also have a recording studio in my house, so I’ll usually turn on the equipment and play for an hour or so.

Do you DJ in clubs a lot?

I was in Belfast last weekend, before that we had a party in London to celebrate Test Pressing’s 10th birthday, but I’m kind of not that bothered about djing. There is a festival we go to every year in Croatia, called Love International. That’s amazing, it’s an amazing festival with an incredible atmosphere. We provide the music from 6 am to midday so the people who come from the club and still want to enjoy themselves have somewhere to have a gentle landing. We also collaborate with them on a series of compilations, the first one just got released. First one is from Gatto Fritto, and the next one will be from... Well we can't mention them yet!

Did you get tired of the party side of things?

You know, I worked in the music industry since I was 18. I worked for a label called Guerilla Records, founded by William Orbit who’s a big producer now, he produced “Ray of Light” for Madonna. After that I worked at a label called Junior Boy’s Own for about 10 years. There was Chemical Brothers, Underworld, lots of House music. That involved lots of going out (laughter)! I wasn’t quite as hedonistic as some people, though! As you get older, you get interested in food, friends and conversation. It’s a different thing.

So, you told me piano had replaced yoga, but do you still indulge in some physical activity?

I need to go to yoga again. I have a DJ friend called Jonny5, he’s a really great yoga teacher. I need to start again, but I haven’t. Everyone in the office runs (editor’s note: as we speak, one of Paul’s colleagues comes in from a run), plays football, cycles, so I feel pretty bad about my inability to tie my shoelaces! But I cycle to work. For 10 minutes, and then I get on the train (laughter)!