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Paradise Movement


Band: Paradise Movement

Members: Mello Paul, DJ Labrynth and Icontact

Who we talked to: The group

How long have you been playing together? Icontact: A year and a half now . . . too long. (Laughs)

How did you guys get together? Mello: (Icontact) and myself were free-styling at parties, and we ended up at the same parties. Free-styling kind of just got a little more serious and we started recording jams. Ran into DJ Labrynth at Mellow D's recording studio.

How did your name come about? Icontact: We kinda just put a bunch of names in a hat and picked one one night and that's what we came up with.

Describe your sound: Icontact: It's pretty out there. You can call it hip-hop, but we try to bring a lot of influences from as many genres as possible. We have a lot of electronic influence. We work with a lot of rock bands. Pretty much everyone we can. We're all over the place.

What other artists do you listen to? Labrynth: It's tough to say. It's really hard because I listen to so much music. I don't really try to emulate anyone's sound. Whatever's self-absorbed, that's the best way I can put it.

Mello: I'm really feeling that new Avril Lavigne track "Girlfriend."

What songs do you love to cover? Icontact: We do all original songs.

Mello: That's where it gets kinda tricky because with hip-hop you really can't do cover songs.

Tell me about your next show. Icontact: It's an outdoor show where they'll be two different stages. We'll have DJs, drum and bass, electronic, house music, breaks and stuff like that, and then on another stage, we'll have the live rock band. We'll have a couple (of) other hip-hop acts coming through.

What is your take on the music scene in York? Mello: I'm definitely feeling real good about the York music scene. There is a lot of good talent out of here. Definitely a lot happening in all genres.

Labrynth: The only thing I could ask for in the York music scene is more venues that are more open to music off the beaten path.

What has the recording process been like? Mello: It's been good at emptying our pockets. Lots of late-night studio sessions and early-morning writing sessions. It's coming along well.

Are there any artists that you guys would love to share the stage with? Mello: There's so many. I wouldn't mind sharing the stage with some of the Rhymesayers. Brother Ali, I'm not sure how that would go though. Wu-Tang . . . or Nas, some huge name like that; something I grew up on.

Shoutouts: Icontact: Ralph Real, Mellow D's studio, The Ooh La Las, 7-17 production company.

Labrynth: Pretty much anyone that's ever came out to one of our shows. Anyone that ever played one of our shows. Anyone that actually enjoys what we do.

Mello: The engineer (at Mellow D's studio), Dave "Big Hits" Forney.

- ERIN McCRACKEN, FLIPSIDE STAFF