Paul Dutton

by Craig HarrisForsaking the use of electronics, Paul Dutton has produced some of contemporary music's most unique sounds. Alternating solo work with collaborations with poetry performance group the Four Horsemen, Dutton continues to utilize a vast array of naturally produced sounds in creating his distinctive music. "I use a lot of effects that don't involve voice at all," he said during an interview, "such as tongue pops and other mouth percussion and forced-air effects at the lips and the nose." Singing since earliest memory, Dutton began writing poetry in his early-twenties. His debut album, The Book of Numbers, released in 1979, has been followed by the equally impressive albums, Hablaescucha in 1983, Visionary Pictures in 1991, and The Plastic Typewriter in 1994. Tunes spanning his full career were reprised on his album, Mouth Pieces: Solo Soundsinging, in 2000. Dutton was the recipient of a Nichol Chapbook award in 1989.