Psychedelic inspiration and a relentless search for a kaleidoscopic array of new sounds has taken Cian Ciaran, AKA PAPS on an expansive journey of musical realisation.Born in the coastal town of Bangor, North Wales, PAPS has a musical outlook as broad as the sea on his doorstep. After learning the drums and playing in his first band aged 14, it was acquiring a set of three DX100s that placed electronic music at the forefront of his fertile imagination. Inspired by the marriage of twisted sounds to a pounding beat within Hardcore and Acid House, the world of electronic music soon opened up to Cian. Soon the minimalism of Plastikman, the warehouse stomp of Joey Beltram and the lush acid of 808 State had synthesised a blueprint in his mind for his own vision of dance music. These artists vied My Bloody Valentine and Renegade Soundwave for position on the Welshman’s turntables and individual production forays soon followed. After joining the Super Furry Animals in 95 and touring the country in their tank , partly in protest against the Criminal Justice Bill ,PAPS still harboured a deep love for electronic sounds. Fast forward to 2009 and as DJ, producer and label manager, PAPS is still relentlessly pursuing this obsession, fusing brain melting acid squelch with thundering peak-time House and Techno.

Relocating to Cardiff in 94 saw PAPS form the Acid Casuals to take on the city’s club scene. Their first release, ‘Orangly out of it’s Head’ featured a vocal sample of beat poet Ken Nordine and sent a signal of intent to create incendiary, challenging dance music that would accept almost anything – except mediocrity. After releases on the legendary Novamute imprint during the early 00s and then on Frankfurts Below label, the Acid Casuals sound has vamped towards 09 and with a label, sOMbOM and club night of the same name.

After a two year residency on BBC Wales, sOMbOM is the current vehicle for PAPS’ talents as a DJ and producer. Cardiff clubbers will testimony to his ability behind the decks, while Richie Hawtin himself confirmed their studio prowess of Acid Casuals when levelling Ibiza’s Amnesia with their own ‘Music Maschine’. sOMbOM parties have mixed the likes of Craig Richards and Daniel Bell with precocious talents Jamie Jones, Agoria and Alex Smoke, issuing an uncompromising mandate to bring the most cutting edge electronic sounds to Cardiff. Meanwhile PAPS continues to push his sound beyond his Cardiff heartland, a recent residency at London’s grimey Corsica studios saw him mix it up with the likes of Andrew Weatheral, Daniel Bell and Matthias Tanzmann.

PAPS is one of only three people to have been allowed to remix the Beatles and also mixed the worlds first fully surround sound album, ‘Rings Around The World’, with SFA. Few in the dance music world can even contemplate projects this size, yet Cian still has the inspiration to plant the seed of new projects. With sOMbOM firing out propulsive, expansive House and Techno these ventures are being realised.