Coloured Paper Shapes Invites You Into “Playtime”

Coloured Paper Shapes Invites You Into “Playtime” — A Soundtrack for Extrospective Introverts

Coloured Paper Shapes is the genre-fusing project of South London-based artist-producer Richard James Jakubowski. Blending jangly guitars, rich storytelling, and subtle experimental touches, his sound finds a sweet spot between indie pop and alternative rock. Honest, human, and emotionally expansive.

Drawing on a lifelong reverence for David Bowie and the stylistic quirks of acts like Metronomy and Japanese Breakfast, Jakubowski crafts songs that speak to people caught somewhere between reflection and release—what he calls music for extrospective introverts. His writing delves deep into the quiet thoughts that live behind loud nights out, exploring the blurry intersections of identity, routine, and connection.

His current body of work forms part of a wider concept project titled Flamingos, a narrative-rich album that plays out like the soundtrack to an imaginary film or musical. Set against the backdrop of an all-night dive bar (based loosely on a real spot once frequented by Jakubowski and his friends), Flamingos follows a group of 30-something co-workers caught in the familiar loop of post-work drinks, blurry weekends, and existential stasis—until one of them starts to see the cycle for what it is.

His upcoming single “Playtime” began life as something separate from the Flamingos arc, originally inspired by a scene from Sean Baker’s The Florida Project. The artist shares, “I was watching The Florida Project, and there’s a scene where these kids are running around a motel parking lot, laughing and causing mayhem. That moment really stayed with me — the way the film captures innocence and joy even in tough circumstances.” He continues, “I wanted to write a song about that feeling of being able to let go — how, whether we’re kids or adults, we have certain people or places that let us tap back into that carefree sense of play.”

With its sunny chords, playful Motown energy, and themes of escapism and freedom, the warm and wistful, “Playtime” captures the moment when the night begins and the world still feels full of possibility. Jakubowski adds, “When I finished the track, I realised it actually fit perfectly with the rest of the album. I’d been looking for a song that captured that wild abandon — when the night is young and everyone’s enabling each other to forget everything and just go out and play.”

Jakubowski describes his songwriting process as building from image and scene, often starting with a place, line, or emotional anchor, and then developing arrangements that mirror the highs and lows of that imagined world. The result is music that’s cinematic yet grounded, poetic but accessible, and full of quiet revelations that speak to anyone who’s ever felt directionless in a world that keeps spinning.

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Taylor Ohryn