Paris Unltd us an artist we should all look out for. Combining his multi, cross-genre influences ranging from hip-hop to pop-punk, his latest single 'Like A Wannabe' has already been showcased by the likes of NOTION Magazine, and it's easy to see why. Auto-tuned and transcendent vocals among a reverent sea of ambient and experimental noise, Paris Unltd really brings everything in this one, and we sat down with this special talent to see what he said to say about it:
Hey Paris, welcome to FLEX! How have you been?
Thanks for the warm welcome! I’ve been up, down, left, right and centre, but as of now I’m doing pretty good.
Can you talk to us more about your latest single "Like A Wannabe”?
Like a Wannabe was a watershed moment for me. I wanted to write a song that simultaneously captured the sense of dread and victory that I was going back and forth between. Think of those moments in movies where the character gets fed up with hitting the same wall over and over again, unable to breakthrough. Instead of seeing the wall as an obstacle to blast through, this character chuckles while shrugging and then chooses to run over the wall. That mindset is where I’m at in life and Like a Wannabe represents all the negative emotions that brought me to some key conclusions. One of these conclusions is that no one’s going to live my life for me – that’s something I have to do.
Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
To be honest the idea came to me in the middle of playing Assassin’s Creed. I was hunched up in my room, face right up in the screen, and it was exam season so there were a million things I should’ve been doing other than playing video games. I think there was the guilt and also I was entering what would be the worst depressive episode I think I’ve had in a long time. There must’ve been a lot going on in the back of my mind because I randomly pressed pause on the game, picked up the guitar and started saying things like “we’re dying as we try” and “and I can be anyone if I try hard, what does that say of me now?” over a progression and the song revealed itself rather quickly.
You have quite a signature and individual sound, how did this come about?
Thank you! I think my sound is a mix of all the disparate inspirations I pull from. I’m talking about composers, bands and artists ranging from rock and electronic, all the way to orchestral music. Also, not enough people know that my favourite soundtrack is the one for the Tron: Legacy Movie. I think watching that movie when I was 11 made me love building atmosphere and environments around sound, since so much of what makes the “fantasy” believable is about the tone you create.
How was the recording and writing process?
I work with a producer named Alex Purcell, and we’ve got a really good understanding with each other. As soon as I sent Alex the acoustic version of this song it was almost an immediate *click* of what sonic picture we could paint because he responded within a few hours with a demo and there were so many Daft Punk references that we loved, so we agreed that we would explore those instincts as far as we could.
What made this want to be your next single?
It sets the tone for what madness is in store for the foreseeable future. The Unltd team (haha, my manager, some of my friends and a few collaborators) know how much music I’ve been working on and all the accompanying art that I know is going to make it clear who Paris Unltd.
What else is in store for Paris Unltd in 2022?
Besides the aforementioned madness, I think there’s going to be a lot more “heavy feelings” to parse through this year. Life hasn’t been the kindest to me these past few years, but I’d be silly if I didn’t say that it’s making me fight harder for myself than I ever had before. I want to live life with both hands on the steering wheel and I can’t wait to share that journey.
Listen to "Like a Wannabe" in full here: