Kill Paris on touring in Canada: " I always have fun up there" (Interview)
/Kill Paris is currently in the midst of a North American tour that include stops throughout Western Canada like Vancouver and Calgary. He's got a lot of new music to show off live thanks to the recent release of his debut album called Galaxies Between Us, a 10 track LP filled with memorable tracks that range from the emotional, melodic, and chilled out.
EDM Canada managed to catch up with Kill Paris before he comes back to Canada this weekend. We talked about his album, the chill movement, his view on live electronic acts, and more.
How's the Canadian tour going so far?
Everyone on the tour including Louis Futon think it was our favourite spots so far, we've had a blast. Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, and Edmonton was awesome. I always have fun up there.
Congratulations on your debut album “Galaxies Between Us”, can you tell me a little bit about it?
I would tell you to just listen to it and judge it for yourself. It's been an accumulation of music that I've been into in the last year. I wanted to make music that you can dance to but also can listen to and chill. I wanted to create something that takes you on a little bit of a journey. That's my whole goal with that album as I wanted to express myself a bit more and stay creative.
Did you have the album planned out from the first track to the last?
No. It just kind of came together. Everything that I do is usually not pre-planned. The planning usually comes after the music is written and ask myself how I'm going to present it in one piece of work. Some of the music in that album is over a year old. I went through around 150 songs to put this album together. I sifted through it and figured out what stuff needed to be finished. It was the first time I made an album and I really enjoyed the process because I got to spend a lot of time on the music to get the flow right.
You tagged your album as “heavy chill”, where do you think the chill out and deeper movement is at right now?
The rise of dubstep and the EDM festival sound got so popular that made people want to create music that people want to chill to. The more chill movement is just a reaction to what's been popular in the last couple of years. I think its cool because I think there's a lot of great music coming out that you just can relax and listen to. I think it's good.
Did you create Galaxies Between Us for the dancefloor or for listening to at home?
I always find that the music I create can be listened to with a bunch of friends or also in a club where you can dance to it. I try to balance that out because I don't want to pigeon hole myself by making some crazy dance thing that you only can listen to it in a club. I like to make stuff that is a listenable but also can be played in a club. I want people to actually feel the music.
I read in an interview that Odesza likes to play more danceable remix versions of their tracks live – do you do the same thing?
I kind of go back and forth in my sets. I like to keep things dynamic where I'll play a track in its entirety and you might not be able to dance to it. But I know that people came to hear my music so I'll play it even though some of it is a bit more chill. I play a mix of my new and old stuff, where my older stuff is a bit heavier. I always like to still play out my music and fans that come to see me want to hear it live.
"If I wasn't on tour right now I could probably have another album done in about 4 weeks."
What do you think of the whole movement towards bringing a more live aspect to electronic shows like what Porter Robinson has done?
This whole live electronic aspect has been going on for 10 years. It's not really anything new it's just that there's been this convergence of the DJ world and the electronic artist. Genres are just blending together and it's all Internet music at the end of the day. The live aspect is not for everybody but it doesn't really matter if you're up there with an instrument or not – it just matters if the show is good. Just as long as everybody is having a good time.
I've always had a live aspect to my shows with the keytar. Back in the day I used to play live with just live looping with a keyboard and a drum pad. I would do that and people would have no idea what was going on. But I don't think everyone needs to do that as it just matters if the crowd and the artist is having fun.
Is this an inspirational time for Kill Paris? You've released a bunch of tracks apart from the album already – where are you at creatively?
If I wasn't on tour right now I could probably have another album done in about 4 weeks. Now that I have my own record label “Sexy Electric”, I'm pretty much free to put out music that I want and I will take full advantage of that. I'm going to find new ways to put out music and reach the fans. I'm super excited.
What's your ambition for the Sexy Electric label?
Bee's Knees and ALMA are a part of our label. With the power of the Internet there are no walls between you and your fans other than the walls we put up. Sometimes that could be a record label that will stop you from putting out the music that you want. We put out the music for free and if fans want to support us then they could come to our shows or buy a shirt. In terms of music I want them to like it and if they want, they can support it. Right now artists are having to put up with BS that put up barriers between themselves and their fan base which is the most important connection.
What's Kill Paris up to for the rest of 2015?
This leg of the tour should be over by July and then I'm headed to Australia and New Zealand. Then I'll just take some time to be home and work on music.
My thanks to Kill Paris for the interview.
If you live in Toronto or Montreal, you can catch Kill Paris this weekend: (Click each event for more ticket information)