A perfect synergy of youthful energy and know-how, the combination of Parallelle and Nicolas Masseyeff is one spanning the breadth of electronic music. The Amsterdam-based brotherly duo head up the beloved Klassified Music – a multi-faceted musician collective and electronic brand pushing the boundaries of musical storytelling since 2018.
With ‘Unmute’, Parallelle combines their unmistakably groovy, dynamic, and powerful sound with French techno chief Nicolas Masseyeff, an artist that has built a solid over nearly three decades. Starting as the owner of southern France’s most respected record store before moving into DJing and production full-time.
EG caught up with Parallelle and Nicolas Masseyeff to talk about their ‘Unmute’ EP via DGTL Records, their summer season, the production process, and more.
EG: Hi guys! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. Where are you based right now? How have you been?
Parallelle: Hey, thanks for having us. We just got back to Amsterdam, with new flats and new projects, so we have been pretty excited so far.
Nicolas Masseyeff: Hello there, thanks for having us over. I am based in the south of France, in a city called Antibes, next to the sea. Summer was great, full of good energy!
EG: As you just said Summer is officially over. What have been some of your highlights?
Parallelle: Burning Man was epic, we closed the Robot Heart bus after Lee Burridge, which was quite special. Hï Ibiza with Black Coffee and Damian Lazarus was amazing, as well as We Can Dance with Mayan Warrior and The Monastery. This season, we also had the chance to shoot new episodes of ‘A Day In’, in both Indonesia and Fiji, where we immersed ourselves in their cultures and recorded everything.
Nicolas Masseyeff: Many parties were really good for me this summer, but maybe one touched me the most. One of my residencies, at Le Bal Des Fous in Cannes, which we restarted after a 3-year hiatus, due to Covid… 5000 people dancing every Saturday afternoon during summer.
EG: Congratulations on the recent release of your ‘Unmute’ on DGTL Records and its subsequent remix package. What has the initial reception been like?
Parallelle: We have been playing the tracks live for almost a year and must say the reactions have always been great. Finally seeing the EP released is giving us so much satisfaction. We are receiving many supportive messages from listeners and loads of support from artists in their podcasts and radio shows. So grateful for that.
Nicolas Masseyeff: On my side, I like to share what I make with a few of my friends who have been listening to electronic music for almost 30 years, not professionals in this industry, but passionate people who listen to my tracks and share their feedback. And when they listened to ‘Unmute’ their reaction was pretty positive. They loved it … and for me, it was a good sign.
EG: So, what can your fans expect to find on these tracks? Is there an inspirational trigger to these?
Parallelle: The fans can expect amazing synths, a groove that will keep them moving, inspirational lyrics, some acid bass touches, and epic build-ups and drops.
Nicolas Masseyeff: It’s always difficult to describe your own tracks, but what I can say it’s that I am pretty proud of the melody behind ‘Unmute’. There is a strong inspiration, regarding the release movement that happened in the Netherlands during the Covid period, but I let the guys tell you more about this.
“We have been playing the tracks live for almost a year and must say the reactions have always been great. To finally see the EP released is giving us so much satisfaction”
EG: For how long have you guys known each other? When and how did the decision to collaborate come about?
Parallelle: We know Nicolas from way back when we used to live in the south of France and were regularly going to his studio. He has taught us so much and keeps on being such a special mentor to us. We even call him “Papa Masseyeff”. We started many projects together, but never found the time to finish anything. Earlier this year, we took a studio week in Amsterdam and had so much fun that we finished a couple of tracks. ‘Unmute’ and ‘Free Your Mind’ are the first two to see the light.
Nicolas Masseyeff: One day, a young guy full of positive energy called me to book me for one of his events, and that was the start of our friendship. We met a few weeks after for the event and we had so much fun. Then the connection was there after they came a few times to visit me in my studio, followed by our creative reunions.
EG: Can you explain what was the process to produce these tracks? Did you start these from scratch?
Parallelle: ‘Unmute’ was an initial idea from Nico, with these amazing analog synth melodies, and ‘Free Your Mind’ was our initial idea. We exchanged projects and both added our personal arrangements that we completely finalized in Amsterdam.
Nicolas Masseyeff: ‘Unmute’ was one of my first ideas when I did the melody. I thought it would be cool to do something with the boys, so I sent it to them, and they jumped right away! Later they came back to me with ‘Free Your Mind’. I loved the idea, and I went to Amsterdam for a few days so we could finish this new collaborative project.
EG: What does your setup look like at the moment? Is any new soft or hardware implemented on ‘Unmute’ that you’d personally recommend?
Parallelle: We just got the Prophet Rev 2, which we really recommend, and used a TB3 sound on ‘Free Your Mind’ that really creates a perfect acid build-up.
Nicolas Masseyeff: In my setup, I have a few analog synths, like the OB-6 which plays the main melody on ‘Unmute’. I also have a lot of digital plugins that I really like, I feel really comfortable with this combo. Also, I like Dave Smith’s synths in general.
EG: How do you keep entertained when not in the studio? Have you come across any good movies, books, or albums lately?
Parallelle: When not in the studio, we are running our company Klassified. Working on a few short films with our director of photography Arnaud Moro, and planning the future releases of Klassified Records.
When at home, we love to listen to vinyl and read some books. ‘The Forty Rules of Love’ by Elif Shafak was our favorite finding this summer. ‘Le Troupeau Bleu’ from Cortex and ‘Bar Mediterraneo’ from Nu Genea are amazing albums as well.
Nicolas Massyeff: In my free time I love to play golf, so when I am not in the studio, I play this sport. I rarely watch TV in my free time… I prefer to spend time with my son and listen to music, there are so many new releases every week
“I think the scene is always evolving, but after Covid, many clubs and promoters disappeared, and it’s a shame… On the other side, this summer was really amazing, I would love to see more peace around us, with more respect.”
EG: What does a regular Monday in the life of Parallelle & Nicolas Masseyeff look like? And a Friday?
Parallelle: Mondays are slow (laughter), especially after a weekend tour. We usually take a nice lunch, check the ongoing projects, and set some goals for the week. We usually start on a new project on Monday with fresh inspiration.
Friday, we finalize the mix on the finished projects, dance in the studio and laugh about the ones we like, and leave the studio to go have some drinks and celebrate a productive week.
Nicolas Masseyeff: Monday is the day I go to the supermarket and do papers for the week, and sometimes do a bit of sport. Friday is the day usually when I check all the music for the weekend. It reminds me of back in the day when I was going to a record shop to buy some music for the weekend 😉 I have done the same for years, but now from home.
EG: What are your thoughts on the current state of the scene? What would you like to see more and less of?
Parallelle: We are happy to see more diversity and inclusivity on the line-ups and pleased to see so many female artists rocking the dance floors. Even though there are few promoters taking the plastic crisis seriously, we would love to see more actions on plastic consumption. We would like to see festivals fully sustainable, with dance floors generating electricity through the act of dancing, with eco-cup, with fewer generators, and with more solutions.
Nicolas Masseyeff: I think the scene is always evolving, but after Covid, many clubs and promoters disappeared, and it’s a shame… On the other side, this summer was really amazing, I would love to see more peace around us, with more respect. This war, which is running not so far from us, is a game changer for many of us… especially for the crowd.
EG: What’s next for Parallelle & Nicolas Masseyeff? What particular milestones are you looking forwards to now?
Parallelle & Nicolas Masseyeff: More tracks together, more memories, more fun.
EG: Thank you so much for your time, guys! We wish you all the best for the future.
Parallelle & Nicolas Masseyeff: Our pleasure! wishing you all the best as well.
Parallelle and Nicolas Masseyeff’s ‘Unmute’ EP is out now via DGTL Records. Stream and buy here.
Follow Parallelle: SoundCloud | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
Follow Nicolas Masseyeff: SoundCloud | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify| YouTube
