Friday 26 August 2016

KBPS Interview: Marie Parie

With her anime-style appearance and quirky, catchy music, it’s difficult to not be wowed by French-American singer Marie Parie, whose electro-pop number ‘Ice Cream’ prepares to land in September. We caught up with the singer in La Rochelle the day after some of her songs got an exciting performance at a very special DJ night to ask her about her new single.

“It’s a fun song for people who get stressed out, to unwind, listen to and dance to. In Texas they say ‘Ass Cream’ (because of the pronunciation) so that’s where it came from. It’s the cultural shock of hearing the Texas accent!”



A summery track, the reception to ‘Ice Cream’ has been great. “People love it – kids, adults, everybody – because it’s very fun. Even the video is very fun with the futuristic Barbie doll and the prince.”

The video, for which there is a teaser currently up online, should be available nearer the end of September after everyone gets back away from the typical holidays of August.

Sticking with the visual side of Marie Parie’s music, we talked about her description of herself as an artistic alien. “That is a very interesting one! The alien is a reference to creating an identity for all the people who do not belong in a lot of places, and creating a space for them to feel safe and identify themselves, and believe in themselves, and do things beyond what their environment dictates.

“And that’s what I want to do as well. We all have this alien in ourselves, but we all can do miracles.”

Marie Parie is very influenced by Japanese anime and manga, shown in the promotion across her website and social media, which is something she has a big love for. “Manga always have these stories that are so touching, and a lot of them are from real life. Anyone can relate to a lot of it, but there’s also the fantastic, and futuristic, touches and I love that.

“As a child people always used to call me Barbie so at first it was annoying but now I’m playing with it, so I’m making a futuristic Barbie!”



With a French background to Marie Parie, this has an impact on how her music sounds. “I blend the two cultures together. For example dating was a cultural shock in the American system. Ice cream is a cultural shock about the Texan accent. Basically I put the two cultures together to create a fun song, but behind it there’s something that touches on society and the art of living.”

Marie Parie is working on a longer LP called ‘Blue Kiss’ which, appropriately, has songs of different flavours to that of ‘Ice Cream’. “It’s still dance and pop-dance, but I have a ballad as well. Some have Spanish flavours and influences on them, and one is Russian. It’s diverse!” she told us, referencing all the different cultures feeding into the record. “You have to listen carefully to know that I’m doing that. At first you just hear dance music and themes, but that’s what I do.”

A release date has yet to be set for the ‘Blue Kiss’ album as Marie Parie is hitting the promotional circuit for the single, enjoying strong chart positioning and new appearances on television and elsewhere in the media, including several American radio stations. The promotional work has also seen Marie Parie performing live around Los Angeles, and she hopes to tour in Europe later in the year. But what about other future ambitions?


“I can’t wait to drop the new single and I already have other singles and projects I’m working on, and I can’t wait to announce those!”

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