MID AIR is the new album from Californian hip-hop duo Paris Texas. True to its name, the album abounds with leaping, percussive production held down with the duo’s signature tongue-in-cheek flare. Taking the gong for FBi Radio’s Album of the Week, Louis Pastel and Felix joined Maleeka Gazula on Up For It! to discuss the process behind making MID AIR.

There’s an incredible energy permeating the record. The sound is reminiscent of other LA groups like Odd Future and BROCKHAMPTON, with playfully rearrangements of modern hip hop conventions, giddy energy and offhand humour. Louis calls those bubbles of energy ‘what the fuck’ moments.

“It just feels like a lot of stuff is way more fleshed out, a lot more harder-hitting and more textured too with each individual song.”  – Felix

“Yeah, I think the sonics got really doubled down on the fun and what the fuck moments.” – Louis Pastel

The two pointed to the ‘weird 80’s synth cocaine part’ in ‘Sean-Jarred’ as not only one of these moments but a fan favourite from the album.

The hard-charging production and cheeky lyricism are somewhat at odds with the intention behind MID AIR. Felix and Louis illuminated a more reflective, individual approach to writing their latest album.

“We kind of wrote at separate times a lot of it. Sometimes it was together, sometimes it was separate. But I had my own journey of isolation, of kind of departing from a lot of things. I think a lot of self-reflecting during those times.” – Felix

“It’s also funny because when you kind of get comfortable in life, it’s interesting because you begin to isolate more. I don’t want many people kind of taking up this space. And so there was a lot of me isolating and being like, well, I got to just work hard and keep this up. And a lot of that was kind of to my own detriment. It’s like some of that seeps into the album.” – Felix 

This darker background makes its way into the album’s more cynical passages. The duo’s acknowledged inspiration from System of A Down, joviality melts into a vibrant but harrowing look at life at various stages across the album. For instance, the violent potential of the ‘man in the mirror’ in ‘BULLET MAN’ is a blooded reflection on the self’s capacity for violence. This deeply personal, reflective character contrasts MID AIR’s generally upbeat tone, giving the album a conceptual depth to match its sonic intrigue. 

Wanna hear more from Paris Texas? Listen to their full interview with Maleeka Gazula up top, or stream MID AIR below.