If you don’t yet know p-rallel, you may recognise his track ‘It’s a Lundun Thing’, the neo speed garage take on the 1997 club classic that has been ripping up dance floors, streamers and TikTok alike since its release earlier this summer. Returning today with his 10-track mixtape, Movement – featuring the likes of Deto Black, Tamera and Toddla T – this west London DJ is on the up and up.
As a producer and artist who grew up on the decks with his DJ dad – owner of legendary music hub Red Records in Brixton – it’s no surprise his taste game is vintage, splicing garage, house, jungle and reggae with amapiano, funk, soul, jazz and rap. That being said, he doesn’t like to label his sound: ‘I’m at a stage where I’m open to any sounds that are coming my way. I’m influenced by what I grew up listening to but I couldn’t really tell you what my main sound is. It’s a tricky one,’ he says.
Despite its loose genre, the common thread throughout all of p-rallel’s music is a need to move to it. ‘Before music I was dancing with a group called Boy Blue Entertainment. We had an in-house producer and watching him during rehearsals shifted my attention to music. I thought, cool, you can dance to music, but how do you make music that gets people to dance? That’s a whole different game. I remember being on stage at the Barbican and thinking, I want more.’
With his dance background in mind, p-rallel’s latest project is appropriately titled Movement, and is a continuation from his breakthrough EP, Forward, that featured the likes of Sam Wise, Jords, Jeshi and Rachel Chinouriri. ‘Movement is an extension of my last project. I want to get to a point where my DJ set is 100% my own music. p-rallel productions. It’s a mixture of house and garage – there’s a few songs that sample older 90s songs to give them life again. I’m very excited.’
After a year of being booked and busy on the festival and nightlife circuits, in 2024, he’s looking to turn it up another notch and experience tour life to its fullest. In the meantime, which artist would be his dream collaboration right now? ‘I’d like to work with Raye. Her voice is amazing and she is very developed as an artist. If The Internet were still together I would love to work with them.’
So, what does p-rallel, a titan of London’s nightlife scene, get up to on a Friday night? His answer comes with no hesitation: ‘Koko. It’s untouchable right now in London. That place is a haven for electronic music. I’m there nearly every weekend, without doubt. You’re gonna find me at Koko.’ Listen to his full Friday night playlist here.
p-rallel - It's a Lundun Thing
Jamie Jones - Lose My Mind
Louis Culture - Culture for 17
Finn Foxell - Slow Kisses
Lord Apex - Love Me Or Hate Me
