Who is Amii?
Amii has a good heart and is sweet by nature, I can be complicated at times but always have good intentions…my best trait is being able to laugh at myself and not take life too seriously, I like to have a good time with people who have a similar sense of humor and can laugh at the world through the same eyes.
What music did you listen to as a kid?
I was a kid growing up in the 80s, although I was very young at the time, the music played a huge part in my life and shaped me into who I am today…..Madonna is the artist that had the biggest impact on me I have followed her whole career, starting as a six year old with her first album. I just felt in love the moment I saw the album cover. I know what its like to be a true fan, I feel so alive listening to her albums and watching her videos….as a kid, I also loved all the artists at the time including Michael Jackson and Kylie of course! Also Cathy Dennis, Dee Lite and early 90s dance records like KLF and C’n’C music factory.
You are now the singer of Parralox, a great synthpop, which reminds us of the ‘80s when there were 80’s great synthpopacts, what are you personal favorites?
My personal favorites are Depeche Mode, New Order, and Human League I also love Giorgio Moroder”s production. All the greats I suppose, they all share a common link, their music is timeless and has so much emotion, something that is missing from a lot of current pop music and a sound I hope we can recreate in Parralox. I just love the synth sound; I still find it amazing that I have found John who is a synth master…. I always say to him that it was the Universe that brought us together (John laughs at that!) in the words of Moloko “what’s meant for you won’t pass you by”.
How did you became a member of Parralox and what is the part you like the most in being part of this band?
I actually heard John was looking for another singer through a friend, I went on line and had a listen and loved it instantly….. John organized an audition; I guess everything just fell into place. You never really know until you work in the studio together. The first song we recorded was ‘Hotter” which happens to be my favorite track on the album, it all just ran smoothly and we got along well, we have a lot in common as far as who we are influenced by… ..I love all things 80s and continue to be inspired by pop music of that era.
What did you do before Parralox?
I have always worked on different genres of dance music, from drum and bass through to house music and even Trance. I was a club kid growing up always at Raves and warehouse parties; from a very young age I surrounded myself with electronic music… I also would sing with djs in clubs over dub records or just write lyrics over instrumentals, I’ve had a lot of fun over the years in the dance music scene, there has been some crazy times.
Was it hard for you to replace Roxy? Did the fans easily accept you?
Its funny because its something I never really thought about, I just turned up to the studio and didn’t give it a second thought…it’s only now I think wow that was an easy transition and the reviews have been great that’s all you can hope for, that people welcome you and like what you are doing. I guess it comes down to the fact I like what I am doing and that comes across to the audience. I think Roxy and I were similar in many ways from our voice to our look which definitely made it easier, maybe some people didn’t notice (lol)
Recently Parralox released two new singles on Conzoom (http://conzoomrecords.de) the first one is called “I am human” and the second one is called “Hotter”. Why releasing 2 singles in such a short period and how was the response on them?
To be honest I’m not really sure why we released two singles so close together, I guess its how Ingo at Conzoom wanted to roll, if it was up to me I would have spaced them out a bit more to give people more time to absorb them, but at the end of the day I guess any release is good for a new band trying to establish themselves. We have had a very positive response for both singles and we were vey happy with the way our clip came together for “Hotter”…….I thought it came across very classy and sophisticated and the location was just right for the shoot, once again it all just fell into place.
When we listen to your voice your range is incredible, singing both low and high notes really well, are you classically trained and what do you do to keep your voice in shape?
I am a self taught singer I think you can hear in my voice who I am influenced by; I listened to so many pop records as a kid and sang along to them for hours on end, so my voice molded around them. I have had lessons over the years on and off, but find it hard to stick with them… I get bored with the theory side of things very easily. Working with John has brought the best out in my voice; I finally feel I am working on a project that allows me to shine as a vocalist. I am starting to learn to take care of my voice and now we are planning for live shows I will have to take it more seriously.
Now the album “State of Decay” is out, to what does the album title refer?
To be honest I’m not really sure…..when John first told me the title I thought it was a little to dark and didn’t gel with the style of our music, but it has grown on me because it could mean many things, which I quite like….if I had to explain what it means to me I would say the state of our music industry at the moment and especially pop music today, all the reality TV shows like Australian Idol and X Factor have killed it in my opinion.
How did the making of the album go, it seems is went really smoothly? How do you work with John in general, doe he create the music and invites you to his studio or do you have writing sessions together?
John usually plans our sessions before hand, he is very organized and professional, we will record a song in a session and now that we have been working together for a while, we can do it within a couple of hours. The songs come easy to John, in my opinion he is a pop writing genius, he just understands perfectly the pop formula….I would like to start collaborating more in the writing process in the near future, I just think it takes a while to get to know each other and how we work, I’m sure this will start to happen overtime. I enjoy the writing process and have written for most of the projects I have worked on in the past, I just hear it in the music, it just sings to me….I don’t like to think about too much, just let it flow.
How are the comments and reviews on State of Decay and why is it in your opinion a good album?
The comments and reviews have all been positive, that’s all you can hope for when you release an album, part of you almost prepares for not everyone to like it, but I can honestly say I haven’t read one negative comment, everyone seems to love it! In my opinion, it is a good album because of the variety of songs and amazing production. The songs have depth to them and I like the fact we have dance pop through to ballads, it’s a nice mix.
There’s also a video of “Hotter”, how did you realize making a video and what can you tell more about it? How was it to play in a video?
We had a lot of fun shooting the clip….I loved prancing around; I really was in my element. A lot of people said they liked my acting which I thought was funny, if you know me I am a very smiley person, so this was a different character for me to be a bit more serious, but it suited the feel of the clip. I was really proud of our work, like I said it, all just seemed to gel, that’s what we were hoping for. We had our ideas and we just played them out and they worked…thank God!
Singing on stage is entirely different compared to singing in a studio, what will be different for you?
Believe it or not I have more experience singing live than in the studio, which comes from years of singing at dance parties to big crowds. The only difference is our songs are more structured, a lot of dance tracks have vocal sections that repeat, so they are easy to sing and improvise and it is always easier singing to a wasted crowd. Our songs have a lot of words I have to remember!!
What are your dreams for the future?
Just to keep working on Parralox and see how far we can take it….I really believe in the project. I would like to increase our fan base and reach more people; especially a younger crowd who are just discovering this 80s influenced sound. There are millions of Parralox fans out there; they just haven’t found us yet.
Any last words for the readers?
Thank you to all our fans for all the support…. we are looking forward to heading over your way in the near future. We hope to continue making pop music with a soul for you to listen to…..
www.myspace.com/parralox
www.parralox.com