SR: Where do we find Parental today?
Parental: Presently drinking my Yerba Maté in my studio in Paris, Belleville.
SR: What is the backstory on the name, Parental?
Parental: When I started making music for fun (around 2005), I was looking for a name with my brother (Lex), my cousin (Haken Besik) & my friend Youssef (Mc Grey), because we were having fun to write rhymes to clash each other, this name was taken from « Parental Advisory » warning label and I decided to keep it it that way.
SR: How did your musical journey begin? Who were the major influences, personal or professional?
SR: Jazz is so clearly influential in all the sounds you create? What is it that you take away from the genre and how does it impact your creations?
SR: What else gets you out of bed and motivates your life beyond music?
Parental: My family, my children, I have a 5 year old girl and a 3 year old boy, that’s one of the reasons why I get up in the morning, even if sometimes I wish they’d let me sleep more, haha.
SR: Over the years you have established long-term relationships with like-minded beat officiandos from France and beyond. How did your partnerships with Alcynoos and Figub evolve, what kickstarted them, and what was the motivation to team up?
I think I have known Figub since 2014 but without really knowing him, I met him several times in Berlin thanks to BeatPete who organized the Backyard Joints parties. But it was only in 2018 that we made real contact, I was leaving a show I organized in Paris and I came face to face with him, he was with my man Alpha (Le Gros Tas de Zik) from Lyon, an old friend from the MySpace era. Very quickly we started working together, we shared chill moments together and a few events between France and Germany, we stay connected constantly from Paris to Berlin.
SR: Give us a little backstory on your recent released work, Metro-Bahn, with Figub. What was the driving theme for the creation of this stellar new release?
SR: More recently you restarted a long collaboration under Kalhex. What drove you back to the studio for Resonance after more than a decade since the last release?
SR: In so much of your work, we find you collaborating with vocalists from around the world. Tell our readers how some of these relationships were developed with say, Carta’ P, Horror City, or Awon.
Late 2018, I invited Awon for a verse on a track on my last album with Pete Flux « Global Scope », the contact was nice and we had a good chemistry together so we decided to work on an album together, we worked remotely at first, then I invited him in Paris as part of his tour with Phoniks & Anti-Lilly to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their album “Return To The Golden Era”, the was full et vibe was crazy! This is where he performed “Goretex” for the first time, a few months before the release. In summary “Sublime” meets with Awon.
SR: I hear Awon may roll through France on tour promoting the 2024 release of Sublime. Anything interesting to develop from that time on tour that we should be aware of?
Parental: I’m proud of the album we made together, unfortunately we haven’t been contacted yet to do any shows, it will come probably later, I know it will happen when the time comes and you will be the first to know!
SR: Ferrari sports car or a Bianchi road bike?
Parental: I chose the Bianchi road bike, because I get around my city by bike.
SR: And, we can’t leave without asking, what will be on your plate for dinner or in your hand later this evening?
Parental: The essential Vietnamese caramel pork (thit-kho) from Rouge Do, you should try it !
Peace and love to Parental for sharing a little of his world. ~SR