Exclusive Interview with 'PARIZ' | Illustrate Magazine

A Slap House cover/remix of “Bad Idea” by Ariana Grande was made by Texas-based producer Pariz and Long Island-based singer Jaime Deraz. The song inspires you to get up and dance in your room, get in your car and drive while ignoring everything else, thanks to its hard-hitting bass, smooth chords, and mesmerizing vocals.
Thinking outside the box, Pariz is a rising star in the music industry who constantly pushes the limits of experimentation and fuses various styles while maintaining his distinctive characteristics.

Singer-songwriter Jaime Deraz bases her lyrics on personal experience and unfiltered emotion. Her poetic language and melancholy cadence perfectly capture each moment. The Long Island native’s happy disposition and melancholy voice combine to produce a distinct emotional ambivalence, which is captured in her writing.

The song gives off the same upbeat energy as the original song while giving it a different feel and vibe that will undoubtedly get you in the mood to go out with your friends or to stay in and host your own dance party in your room. Check out the single and the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how you got started?

PARIZ: I’m from Texas, USAborn & raised. I got my start by just one day looking up how music was made and ever since then I haven’t stopped

2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

PARIZ: I’ve had a few producer/music mentors over the years so I don’t really know what you would really classify that as. I guess both HAHA

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘PARIZ’?

PARIZ: So my 1st musical influence was a producer that goes by the name of “Rogue” and then after that I got into more of the pop side of EDM so now it’s The Chainsmokers, Ariana Grande, a singer/songwriter named Danyka Nadeau, & another singer/songwriter namedVeronica Bravo. So for my artist name I got the name whenever I was looking to change my name and I found it online and I didn’t hate it.

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

PARIZ: I think one of the key elements listeners should resonate with are the lyrics in my songs. Alot of time goes into coming up with lyrics and there’s always a message in the lyrics. I honestly don’t know how I would describe my sound because I think I’m still looking for it.

5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as EDM?
PARIZ:
I personally think I don’t have originality because I’m still in that phase of trying to find my sound. I would say my development as an artist has evolved so much, because when I look back from when I started I was not good at making music at all and I see where I am now there was definitely a huge learning curve. I still don’t think I have my own style cause I from one genre to another. Like one day I could be making House, and the next lo-fi, and then the next day dubstep, and then I’ll take a random turn to RnB or something like that.

6. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative and entertainment?

PARIZ:

I see music as a tool to express myself and others. Nothing more or less.

7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfilment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

PARIZ:

I think right now the return on music right now for me is good because I like the fact that some random stranger can like one of my songs and tell me about it.

8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

PARIZ:

My creative process is so hectic that I don’t really know how to explain it. Sometimes I’ll have an idea in my head and try to translate to my DAW and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t.

9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

PARIZ:

No support from my family.

10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

PARIZ: I think for where I am right now in music I’m successful and I’m going to try and keep it that way.