Para Lia On the Making Of ‘In Clash With The Zeitgeist’
What was the creative process like for this particular album 'In Clash With The Zeitgeist?'
Cindy: Actually I cannot say that much about it. René is the soul and heart of Para Lia. He creates everything. He say’s am his muse, so maybe this is the only part I do in this case. J
René: The inspiration came a while ago when we found a place in Greece called ‚Nagual‘. It’s a beach bar, run by a musician from Athens. A place much different from normal beach bars beside the Greek sea. The music is special here – a lot of dream pop, and psychedelic, music throughout the decades – and special are the people who join this microcosm of alternative life. It was and is a fine enclave of free ghosts and open-minded people – and this is what we felt even more in times of Corona. With the song ‚Nagual‘ which i wrote about 2 years ago it started and from here the ‚red line‘ of the album grew.
Can you talk about the recording and production process for 'In Clash With The Zeitgeist?'
Cindy: Recording for me means, the song is almost ready. All the instruments and the voice of René are recorded. René gives me his ideas, on how my voice should be included in the song. Without notes or anything. He says:” Let us try it like this and he sings my part one octave deeper. And then I try to make it. So far we are happy with the results. J It’s an easy way for us, because in the meantime I know very well, how he wants me to intone.
René: The Para Lia recording process is an intimate thing. All the stuff is recorded at home. Without modern techniques but with passion, time, and a lot of old-school equipment. The second part is the mixing and mastering and this we did in Berlin in the studio with Thommy Hein. A great guy with tons of experience and a guy who loved the Para Lia stuff when he listened to the demo versions. So in Berlin, we worked together and we got the sound we wanted for the album.
Which song from the album do you like the best and why?
Cindy: I adore all of them. Really. The most special is “Mr. Perry” because I love the Opera part. It’s something special and it was a big wish of mine to combine classic music with Indie Rock. I am very happy with the result.
Also “Yellow Rose” reaches my heart. It´s a deep song with a lot of strong feelings and a great arrangement with guitars, piano, and the good old mellotron.
René: I do not have a favourite one. Or better to say, I have 11 favourites - the whole album as a “big round thing” and I really love the way it came out as a unit.
What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced as musicians, and how did you overcome them?
Cindy: I am in front of my biggest challenges. Next year we want to go out with our live performance. I’m looking forward and I am really excited because I am the only one in our band with no experience on stage.
René: In the song ‘Mr. Perry’ we sing about what it means to be an indie rock band without a big budget, without songs for mainstream radio and stuff like this. To get an album like this done – not only the recording but all the stuff around till you get it out - besides having a main job is a hard task. The main challenge right now is to complete our metamorphosis from an indie rock duo to a band with six members. We work hard on a live set and the plan is to go out on stage with Para Lia next year.
How did your band members initially come together?
Cindy: We met each other in 2014 and it was immediately love. Since 2017 we are even married. We have a great relationship and I love it to be a part of Rene’s life. When we came together, René played a lot of Neil Young songs with his white guitar. Ramada Inn and Cortez the killer. I can remember this very well. I loved it. Step by step he restarts with songwriting. (He did this when he was studying.) Once he asked me to sing some “huhuhuuuus” in his microphone for another song he wrote. Soap bubble dreams. This was the beginning and a few songs later Para Lia was born and Rene gave my voice more and more space in the songs, even songs only for my voice. I am very happy about this.
René: We met, we fell in love, I found out that she was like a muse to me, so i started to write songs again (after a pause of many years), and then - because i love her voice – i asked her to sing on a freshly recorded track. It worked so well, her contribution indeed was the cherry on the cake. So the Para Lia thing started. All in all a very logical process, isn‘t it?
