Whoever was present at Honkytonk in Melbourne last time Tim Paris was in town certainly knows how hard he can rock a party. Bounded by no genre – his music reflects the eclectic tastes of his upbringing. Having spent much of his early life living in Paris – and subsequently moving to London, you can feel the diverse yet tasteful understanding he has of music.
“When I was in Australia at the end of June last year, I was just finishing my move to London. Since then, I have set up my studio and have been playing there a lot more; and I’ve been continuing to develop my labels and playing a lot of gigs.” All of this, transcribed from the sweetest of French accents, of course.
So how does one make such a considerable move? And what was it all for? “I guess I moved here for some reason; the scene is really big here; there are parties here. The people are really involved in the music and are really involved in the culture. It’s great for a DJ because you have that communication with the crowd; its one of my favorite things. Paris is great and I still go to Paris – in fact I’m going tonight! It’s still rocking though it’s just a smaller place.”
Listening to him perform, one can hear the influence of his love of Detroit. And he elaborates: “I’ve done a few tracks that have been inspired by that sound and I’m always looking for other inspiration – many things impress me; there is that 80s jazz that I’m really liking. Stuff like funk and pop with acoustic guitars. I also really like pop samples at the moment.”
“In terms of what is being played right now, it is really varied. I wouldn’t say minimal is dying but it reached a climax; I won’t be saying its commercial but it’s played at the biggest parties – and since that music is coming from the underground, the underground is still playing it. Maybe you can hear them trying to mix a little of the disco thing with the minimal aestheticism we have at this moment. And disco is interesting right now, it’s really a new kind of disco sound.”
That said, his labels Crack and Speed and Marketing are crawling along, waiting for the right releases. “While we have a few releases on Crack and Speed, one there from me called Dog or Vodka. There has been less coming out on Marketing. Crack and Speed is more electro house stuff; there seems to be techno these days, but we like it this way and Marketing is really something that I’m not releasing a lot of records on because I’m going into this weird disco direction with it and I think people like it.”
As for his own album, it is still on the cards although with the volume of remixes he has been completing – and continues to complete, it is still a future project. “I really hope to finish an album, I won’t say no, but for the last two years I have been doing a lot of remixes and not as much of my own material; so I’m still really eager to complete something.”
And finally, his promise of a different and fresher performance than last year should definitely have the fans panting. “I’m gathering all my tracks and listening to a lot of new stuff. There is plenty that I’m liking of the moment. A bit of techno and disco as well as minimal but there are going to be some amazing records so I can’t wait to play them for you guys.”
Tour Dates:
Friday 16th February @ Bread & Butter, Ladylux, Sydney
Saturday 17th February @ 3rd Class, Melbourne
Sunday 18th February @ Berlin Lounge, Surfers Paradise
