Boys by Girls - The Observer

"Lots of people now want to shoot models who’ve got a bit more to them instead of just being a model." 

Born in a city shadowed by the towering Highlands in northern Scotland, Calum Paterson at Models 1 has slowly ventured south over his years of growing up, recently cementing himself into the hustle of London life - estranged - a drastically different landscape and livelihood.

Challenged with intimate discussions on today’s generation, we get a small insight into the tickings that are going on within his mind about the world and the people that surround him. He gathers his thoughts as we probe beyond the surface of his reserved and quiet demeanour - what we get to know you would never have guessed on your own. He’s a silent observer, but with a lot to say. 

The creative and fashion industries so regularly slated are given thanks to by Calum, allowing him to grow a confidence within himself that a year ago he wouldn't have been able to recognise. It takes a lot to stand semi-naked in front of a room of strangers. Credit has to be given somewhere. A slight feverish change in demeanour rolls over him when the talk turns to music, divulging his favourite bands and where his affinity for music originated. The excitement and passion so clear. He indulges us with his dreams, sights set on the ultimate goal of living a life thriving and saturated in creativity, producing music he’s passionate about.

How would you describe the young generation growing up today?
Disadvantaged to some extent, but at the same time with way more opportunities, compared to older generations - where life seemed slightly easier than ours in terms of getting a job and having flat. My dad bought his own beautiful flat when he was younger than me in the centre of Edinburgh and he didn’t have an amazing job, but he bought his own flat when he was like 21. It’s crazy. The thought or chances of my generation doing that are extremely slim, never gonna happen, not at this age anyway. Also everyone knows about the unemployment stats and whatnot, it’s impossible to get a job. More and more people are going to university, before it used to be pretty elite. I think my mum was one of the first people to go to university in her family, it just wasn’t a considered path. I studied music and got a first, but one girl on my course in her final performance got 100/100 and I just think that’s completely ridiculous. I think it makes a mockery of the system the fact that you are literally perfect at doing something, nobody’s perfect. Where can you go from there? You should be leaving university having learnt things and accomplished stuff, but still have stuff to learn, it doesn’t finish there. Now there are a lot more creative opportunities due to social media and the internet. The internet is something somebody my age would take for granted, because it’s in your life every single day - unless you’re amish - but the generation before us didn’t have that and it makes such a huge difference with everything. You can connect with anybody around the world. As a musician you can make hip hop beats and send to somebody in LA that you’ve never met. It’s possible to not live in the same city and still make music with them. You don’t have to be in the same place - which is incredible, but then at the same time it’s almost too many opportunities.

What does it do to you having all those opportunities?
Personally, I overthink everything and you can drown in it all, whereas if I were this age 20 years ago, I think life would be much simpler and more obvious. Now it’s like; 'I want to do this, I want to do that'. It can get a bit heavy. I think one of the biggest challenges is there is too much happening that I want to do. I’m sure a lot of people in my generation feel the same, just a bit swamped with it all. 

What are you passionate about?
Music would be the main thing.

What did you study within music?
It was just called ‘popular music’, I was basically on drums for a degree. No dissertation, hardly any essays or written work, just mainly practical. It was fine, I don’t think they really encouraged creativity that much, and I felt somewhat stifled. Music college is just kind of you’ll play in a wedding band or you’ll teach drums for a living and it didn’t really encourage you to follow the creative music route, it was just a bit more like a job. It’s definitely a good thing, some of my friends do session work and things like that, but it’s just not really what I want to do.  

What is it about the drums that gets you?
A lot of people say it’s like a stress release, I don’t really find that. When I’m stressed, playing drums is not the one for me - I find it makes me more tense. It’s funny, I listen to bits and bobs of music, but I was never really that interested in it and at primary school I started out playing trumpet. It was cool to have your lesson once a week, practice maybe a couple times and I was not that into it. I then moved to French horn, still not interested, and lugging it to school every week was an absolute mission. I wasn’t very good at it and I didn’t enjoy it. I also didn’t listen to classical music, so the tunes I was practicing I wasn’t listening to. Then I started playing piano, gave up French horn and kind of got a little bit better, because I was playing more jazzy stuff. At school we had to have a shot at playing drums and the class was too big and I didn’t get my turn in a lesson, so he was like you’ll get a shot next week and I went home from school and tried to figure out what they were trying to teach us and it clicked. I went to the class the next week, sat down and just did it, and the teacher was like; ‘alright, cool - you’re going to play drums’, but I couldn’t get any lessons so I taught myself for the first year. It was the joy of being able to play music that I listened to and that resonated with me. After that, rhythm in general, I love music. 

You said you wanted to be in a band?
I was in a band called Engine in Leeds and I just left to come to London basically.

That's recent - are you looking for a new band?
Yeah, like a month ago, 100% looking for a new one. I thought it would be a lot easier than it has been to be honest. I thought I’d come down and spot a band flyer quickly, but I feel all my friends in Leeds are musicians and all my friend in London are fashion-y kind of people. It’s always that thing about who you know and I don’t really know that many musicians yet, so it’s proved a bit more difficult than I’d anticipated. It’ll happen, I’ve just got to carry on. Music is my passion, it’s what I want to be known for - this is just a transitionary period. 
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Full interview available here.

Image taken from Boys by Girls, shot by Cecilie Harris.