This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch)
Years of sonic exploration across cultures and soundscapes have led to Parallelle’s debut album A Day At, which will be released on November 11 via their own label, Klassified. Behind Parallelle are the half-French, half-Dutch brothers Julien and Thomas de Bie. In their music, the duo captures the sounds of everyday life and transforms them into vibrant musical compositions. On their first live set at DGTL: “At first, it just wasn’t working, but luckily, we perform better under pressure.”
“We’ll start at the beginning. It was a mild winter day in La Turbie, in the south of France. Christmas Eve, 2001. Our father had lined up a few chairs in the living room because we were about to perform live for the first time in our lives. And in front of the most critical audience in the world: our family!”
Cold beer
“Julien, aged 11 at the time, was adjusting the mouthpiece of his saxophone, while 9-year-old Thomas stretched his fingers in preparation for the piano and drums. And our dad… was pouring himself a cold beer!” (laughs)
Family concert
“Slowly, the room filled with our grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins. Our stress levels rose. We’d practiced for months to play a few jazz tracks together. ‘Autumn Leaves‘, ‘Cantaloupe Island‘, ‘Summertime‘, ‘Night in Tunisia‘ – and of course, we ended with ‘Jingle Bells’! We had no idea this day would spark a family tradition: a yearly Christmas concert to kick off the holiday season.”
The joy of the crowd
“Fast forward twenty years and look at where we are now! Our debut album is on the way, and we got to perform with our own band at Westerunie during ADE, with our father proudly filming from the crowd. Alessandro Mazzieri laid down a funky groove with his electric bass, Nicolo Ricci dazzled on tenor saxophone, and Simone Cesarini worked his magic on the guitar. We could feel the audience’s joy. It was a dream come true to create our first album with such professionally trained musicians.”
First live act
“We’ve been playing DJ sets for a while now, but live performances ignite a different spark in us. In 2018, we took the leap and performed our first live act at DGTL.”
Sexy synths
“DGTL announced us in the very first line-up release, five months before the show. At least that gave us a deadline and some prep time. We wanted to create something entirely new – new tracks with sexy synths, sax, vocals, a drum machine, and MPC with our own samples.”
Under pressure
“But the weeks went by, and we just got more stressed. We hadn’t done the work the set really deserved. From creating tracks to rehearsing, fine-tuning, and mixing them to sound great on big speakers… it just wasn’t coming together. But thankfully, we work better under pressure.” (laughs)
The big day
“And then it was show day. We arrived at NDSM before DGTL even opened its gates. We wandered around and eventually found ourselves inside a massive dome – our musical home for the next 90 minutes. We met the stage manager and sound crew and set up our equipment. During soundcheck, Thomas made a joke on the mic to lighten the tension we were both clearly feeling. All kinds of thoughts raced through our heads: it’s our first time, this is our moment, please don’t mess up… A million scenarios played out. But in the end, we both agreed: we had to deliver a killer show!”
Badaboem!
“Now it was time to rock! The first elements echoed from the MPC, Thomas played a synth chord that created a mystical vibe, and Julien turned on the delay. The saxophone intensified the magic, and Thomas picked up the mic and started singing. Familiar faces popped up in the crowd – and then came the first kick. Badaboem! We could feel the crowd’s excitement. For us, if the start is solid, the rest usually flows naturally.”
Variété Française
“The dome filled up fast, and before we knew it, it was time to wrap up. Our closing track was a remix of Charles Aznavour – a surprise we’d kept under wraps. Aznavour holds a special place in our hearts because he reminds us of our French grandmother, who taught us to sing Variété Française. It’s hard to describe what we felt during that final track: a mix of gratitude, relief, pride, and pure happiness.”
Shaking
“Everyone in the dome applauded. It was overwhelming – and a relief. We saw our best friends backstage, beaming with pride. We were still shaking, unable to believe what had just happened. It felt like we were floating on another planet. Then Matthey Dekay, who was up next, plugged in his USB and congratulated us before starting his set. That’s when it really hit us: we had successfully played our first live set at DGTL Festival!”
Miracles
“Once the tension and adrenaline wore off, we started to reflect. You realize what went wrong, what could be improved. But at the same time, you want to dance. We’re incredibly grateful for mentors like our musical father and Nicolas Masseyeff. We’ve always been able to share our doubts and technical challenges with them, and they’ve given us valuable feedback. We also received a lot of help from Amr, a.k.a. Fulltone, who always tells us the unvarnished truth – and vice versa. Without their support and input, the whole experience would’ve been very different. We’ve hit a major milestone, and it’s opened up a whole new path.”
Unique energy
“Our goal now is to keep improving and play more live shows. Performing with a band brings a special kind of energy. While producing or performing, we improvise and communicate through music – like having full conversations without saying a word.”
Musical boundaries
“As Parallelle, we push our musical limits by collaborating with musicians from around the world. Our global journey has had – and continues to have – a huge impact on our open-minded approach to music. We let our sound be shaped by the countries and musical cultures we encounter. That’s what inspires us the most and has led to collaborations with artists like Maalem Omar Jayat (Morocco), El Venado Azul (Mexico), and Pál Guðmundsson, who makes traditional Icelandic instruments from stone.”
“We don’t just inspire each other – it’s also a way to shine new light on their deeply rooted traditions and build bridges between traditional and modern music. This way, we work towards a symbiosis that reflects the true essence of culture. We believe it’s vital to embrace diversity and preserve musical heritage.”
This interview with Parallelle was originally published in November 2021 on This Is Our House.
Who are Parallelle?
Parallelle are two brothers from a parallel dimension. Parallelle is of Dutch origin. The brothers grew up influenced by jazz and classical music. After having travelled the world enriching themselves in different cultures and sounds, Parallelle are now settled in Amsterdam as composers, performing artists and label owner of Klassified.
Combining their individual characters and close bond with a shared love of creation and composition, a symbiosis in brotherhood is shown in a conversation between instruments, voices and electronic sounds, illustrating the rhythm of life
Proposing either live, hybrid or DJ acts, Parallelle offers a groovy, dynamic and powerful experience through sound. Parallelle previously performed at Burning Man on major stages such as Robot Heart, Mayan Warrior and Playa Alchemist and on renowned international festivals such as DGTL, Day Zero, Fusion, SXM, Caprices, Les Plages Electroniques, Afrikaburn, Rituel Festival and Wonderfruit to name a few.
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