Life feels easier when we return to the things that matter. Staying healthy. Cherishing friends and family. Keeping the mind quiet. Doing what needs to be done. And simply putting the phone aside more often, so we can really look up, notice the world around us – and find our own groove again. As Julien and Thomas from Parallelle told us during our conversation: “When the phones disappear, people are suddenly present – with the music, with each other, with us.”
It is a line that stays with you, because it is so true.
Their new album 11th Avenue carries exactly that lightness – an invitation to slow down, tune in, and let yourself be moved. It is a wonderful collection of songs made for dancing, drifting with the beat, and making you feel at ease. The feel-good track “Searching For The Groove,” taken from the album, comes with a playful video that brings its warm, late-summer energy to life.
Parallelle – the French duo of brothers Julien and Thomas – are known for blending house, soul, jazz, and global textures with analogue warmth, field recordings, and a deep respect for culture and community. Now based in Lisbon, they continue to build a world where sound, visuals, fashion, and storytelling flow together in their own rhythm.
We’re very happy to catch up with them again two years after our last interview, and they told us about their journey, their creative growth, and the moments that shaped 11th Avenue.
photography by Dani Bastidas
Hello Julien and Thomas! So happy to talk to you again after two years! I assume a lot has happened for both of you. Where are you right now, and how are you doing? (smiles)
Happy to be back on C-Heads!
And yes, uff, a lot has changed. We both moved to Lisbon, Portugal. We released our new album 11th Avenue, and honestly, we’re feeling really good about where life and music have taken us.
Congratulations on your new single “Searching For The Groove”! I love it so much — it’s so positive and full of good energy! You mentioned that the theme is about how everyone’s groove means something different — for some it’s love, for others success or freedom. For me, the groove is a quiet mind. Is that something you can relate to?
Absolutely. A quiet mind is a beautiful groove.
For us, it’s those moments alone at home after a long weekend, recharging, listening to smooth, groovy soul records, letting the music wash over the mess of thoughts. That’s a place we go to often.
In other words, you said: “Whatever it is, it’s the rhythm that keeps you moving forward.” So what keeps you moving forward these days?
The excitement of improving the music: the live show, the performance, the craft. Discovering new countries, meeting new people, learning new cultures. And above all: friends and family. They’re the rhythm behind everything we do, the part that keeps us sane and moving with purpose.
“It’s the excitement of improving the music — the craft, the performance, the live show — that keeps us moving forward.”
You mentioned that your collaboration with Benji (Sacks) started from friendship and shared studio time. What was one unexpected moment or surprise that came out of working with him?
Back in Amsterdam, Benji was renting our studio, and we’d always talked about making a track together. One day we just committed: start from scratch and see where the day takes us. From early morning to late at night, we switched places behind the computer every 30 minutes, like a musical seat roulette.
The funniest moment was writing the lyrics, we turned it into a game where each of us blurted out the first sentence that came to mind, following the previous sentence. Somehow chaos becomes the essence of the song.
By the way, where did you film the video for it?
Mostly in Cascais and Estoril, just 30 minutes from Lisbon. It was filmed by the amazing Jose Orpinelli, who actually shot most of our music videos for the album.
Your LP 11th Avenue is out October 29 on your Lisbon-based label FOLDER. What can we expect from it?
A journey into soulful escapism, where Funk, Soul & Jazz meet a modern, warm electronic sound. It’s an album for both your living room and the dance floor. Something that can brighten your day and light up your night.
Analogue approaches are central to 11th Avenue. In an era of digital perfection, how do you decide which little “flaws” to keep and turn into part of the sound’s charm?
We used a lot of analogue synths, the Juno 106, Prophet Rev 2, Moog Sub37, to keep that raw texture alive.
Even with digital instruments, we play everything by hand on weighted keys so the touch and velocity shape the sound naturally. Nothing is perfectly quantized. We keep slight timing imperfections because they breathe, they live.
Those little flaws are where the human tension sits and that tension is magic.
“We’ll be side by side until the very end. That’s what brotherhood is… a rhythm that never stops.”
You once said FOLDER began “over beers in Príncipe Real, talking about creating a new label — something for the dancefloors, uplifting and upbeat.” And you wanted to make music that simply makes people dance. I recently came across a video where almost no one was dancing — everyone was just on their phones. This happens in some clubs these days. Do you notice that too? And how do you feel about it — does it make you a bit sad, or do you just accept it as a sign of the times?
Taking a video isn’t a problem, but filming every track of a set is a different story. We’re big believers in no-phone parties. When the phones disappear, people are suddenly present, with the music, with each other, with us. We did it in New York with Raw Cuts: crowd surrounding us, no phones. The vibe was unreal, pure energy, pure connection. Folder is all about that pure feeling as well. Human, authentic, raw, yet beautiful.
You’re also releasing a streetwear collection with Ciaran. How do your music and fashion connect — do you ever get inspired by clothes or imagine sounds when you see a fabric or design?
Fashion is part of the visual language of music. The album had this warm glow to it, so orange naturally became the color of its whole visual identity. The attention to detail that Ciaran has in design, mirrors how we approach sound. Wearing something is another way of expressing rhythm, a way for the music to continue after the song ends. Some pieces even influence our mood or color palette.
When you think back to our A Day In… interview in 2023 — what feels different about who you are now, two years later? Do you often think back to that time, or do you mostly live in the present?
We feel very similar at our core, even though the projects carry different messages. A Day In… was a cultural journey full of field recordings and storytelling. 11th Avenue is much more of a dancefloor album, bringing house music back to the front, but through our lens.
And finally — in our last interview you said, “It’s always better to have two pairs of ears than one.” We loved that, as we are also two sisters making C-Heads together, so we can really relate! Do you still feel the same way about working together — and do you imagine Parallelle will still be side by side in 10 years? (smiles)
We can still handle each other. (laughs) Actually, we’re better than ever, dividing tasks when needed but always moving as one. We’ll be side by side until the very end. That’s what brotherhood is… a rhythm that never stops.
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