- Music
- 07 Nov 03
Tikiman gets down with the black stuff
It’s Sunday night, sometime past midnight. In the snooty setting of the DEAF VIP Bar, deep within the bowels of the Guinness Storehouse, hotpress meets with a jovial Paul St. Hilaire - all smiles and white, moussy moustache, busy lining up his complementary pints before closing time.
Originally from the Dominican Republic and now based in Berlin, Paul St Hilaire (aka Tikiman) embodies the dub-reggae-meets-minimal-techno hybrids that have become increasingly popular with acts like Deep Chord and recent Dublin visitor, Pole - a musical playground that takes in all of Jamaica, Germany and Detroit.
Having made a name for himself as Tikiman and lending his voice to the various pursuits of artists like Rhythm & Sound and The Bug, St Hilaire appears in Dublin today alongside German production duo Scion.
Aside from the enraptured crowd he left behind in the Firehouse Skank room, St Hilaire is pleased to play a gig in the Guinness Storehouse. “Direct from the factory,” he says smiling at his pint with a sense of nostalgia.
“I’ve been drinking Guinness since I was this big,” he explains with his hand at bar stool level. “For the first communion in the Dominican Republic, your mother makes you a special Guinness called a Sho-do.
“It’s basically Guinness mixed with egg, milk, cinnamon and all the nice spices like nutmeg and cardamon. You mix it up really well.
“Mmmmm, it’s delicious,” he assures a dubious Hot Press. “You drink it with a straw!”
