The Fireman (band)

In early 1993, Paul McCartney had finished recording the tracks for his ninth solo studio album Off the Ground and was in the process of mixing the songs. McCartney wanted some input and help from another producer, so his friend Allen Crowder recommended Youth to come into the studio.[5] Soon after, McCartney phoned Youth about the prospects of him mixing the album, and subsequently invited him to his private Hog Hill studio in Sussex. Youth accepted the offer and the two began the process of remixing the song for the album which was eventually released in February 1993.[6] While working together professionally for the album, McCartney and Youth also became good friends. They both felt that their musical relationship could be expanded upon further than merely focusing on McCartney's solo work, so the two began compiling material which would ultimately become Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest.[5]

That's the whole point about The Fireman – it's very free. And also it's an approach I'm interested in. The Whole idea behind 'Sgt. Pepper's...' was to create a band, and we could pretend that we were that band and not the Beatles, so we made that record with that in mind...But it's very free – it's a very joyful way to record. Sometimes it can be pretty scary but that's OK. And it's very quick. But I enjoy the process because it's exhilarating.

— Paul McCartney [7]

The collaboration of Paul McCartney and Youth began as a mere hobby between the two. McCartney proposed to Youth that he go through the multi tracks of the recently completed Off the Ground album and sample the material in order to create some songs. Youth began making the tracks with intentions of using samples from the album, yet much of the final product had either used previous work or newly recorded material by McCartney. Youth worked on these songs' mixes for a few days while at McCartney's Sussex studio and eventually presented his work to McCartney and his wife Linda McCartney, who both stayed up all night to watch him work. As Youth recalls, McCartney told him, "We love these mixes so much I wanna put them all out as an album."[6] By that point, the duo decided to officially release the album. The final product consisted of nine songs that all centered around a common musical theme and techno dance beat yet had slight underlying variations added, much like different mixes on a 12-inch single. The album, which featured only a pure red background on the cover, was the first release under the Fireman name and lacked any marks of either McCartney's or Youth's names but refers to MPL Communications. The album was released in November 1993.[8] Shortly before the release, the true identities of the band were leaked to the press and most who bought the album were fully aware that the Fireman was a pseudonym for Paul McCartney and Youth. Although this broke the guise that McCartney wanted to have, it allowed the album to gain more attention in the music scene.[8]

Recording for their second studio album Rushes began in February 1998.[9] Unlike their previous work, Rushes was not reliant on McCartney's previously released songs to create the tracks for the album. It has been released in September 1998 with positive reviews, most of which had the consensus that it improved upon their first album.[10]

Nearly ten years passed before McCartney and Youth began creating material for their third studio album, Electric Arguments. The duo again recorded songs at McCartney's Hog Hill studio, yet did so one session at a time between 2007 and 2008.[6] This was their first album to feature any vocals because both Youth and McCartney felt that their material needed a change; thus the genre of the band evolved from its more electronic roots to an experimental rock influence.[7] Like their previous two albums however, McCartney played all of the instruments while Youth co-produced the tracks.The duo borrowed the title Electric Arguments from the poem "Kansas City to St. Louis" by Allen Ginsberg. In Wired magazine, McCartney said he had "been looking at the beauty of word combinations rather than their meaning."[11]

We had a ball making this album, and it was a great departure because it seemed more like improv theatre. In the improv spirit, there are William Burroughs-type cut-ups in the lyrics. I came to 'Sing the Changes', as well as all the other songs in the album, with absolutely no concept of what the melody or lyrics would be about. So it was like writing on the spot, which I think lent an electricity to the whole sound.

— Paul McCartney [12]

This was the Fireman's first album to be released on the independent label One Little Independent, switching from McCartney's usual EMI. This was due to McCartney's belief that major labels were not adapting to the times, referring to the newfound popularity of online music at the time such as iTunes.[7]

• Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest (1993)
• Rushes (1998)
• Electric Arguments (2008)

• "Transpiritual Stomp/Arizona Light Mix" (1993)
• "Rushes" (1998)
  • "Fluid"
  • "Appletree Cinnabar Amber"
  • "Bison (Long One)"
• Fluid (Nitin Sawhney Remixes) (1999)
  • "Fluid (Out of Body and Mind Mix)"
  • "Fluid (Out of Body Mix)"
  • "Fluid (Out of Body with Sitar Mix)"
  • "Bison"
• "Sing the Changes" (2008)
• "Dance Til We're High" (2008)
• "Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight (Radio Edit)" (2009)