In support of their new ‘Hawk Hill’ single, melodic alternative / indie rock duo Para Lia have revealed their new video, created by multmedia artist Ralf Schuster. A special Bandcamp edition also features two additional tracks: ‘Over It (single version)’ and ‘On My Way Home’.
Para Lia is an indie/ alternative rock duo based in Cottbus (near Berlin), influenced by the rhythms and tones of ‘90s alt-rock and the synth density of ‘80s darkwave.. Their own sound blends melodic guitars, along with distinctive lead guitar and resonant synths.
Comprised of René Methner (all instruments and vocals) and Cindy Methner (backing vocals), both artists were both raised in the eastern part of a divided Germany but met many years later.
“Hawk Hill is about my love/hate relationship with the small insignificant town of Falkenberg, where I spent my childhood. In German, ‘Falke’ means hawk and ‘Berg’ means mountain. But in fact Falkenberg has no hawks or mountains. The words ‘Hawk Hill Lane’ popped into my head one day while working on a guitar riff – it was a ‘Penny Lane’ moment, reminding me of the street I walked down every day to go to school. The vocals reflect today’s view on a town with the same fate as many small towns in rural East Germany,“ says René Methner.
“After big political changes in early 90’s Germany, many jobs were lost, youth moved out, schools and cultural centres closed, the cash flow stopped and small towns like Falkenberg fell dormant – kind of like a dead end street. You still can smell the fragrance of the past. Both Cindy and I grew up in Falkenberg and even lived on the same street, but we never met back then. We met years later and understood that we’ve walked the same streets and shared the same roots – a great good omen for walking hand in hand into the future.”
This new single release follows hot on the trail of their debut album ‘Soap Bubble Dreams’, a collection of 10 tracks that released in March 2019.
Para Lia is an indie/ alternative rock duo based in Cottbus (near Berlin), influenced by the rhythms and tones of ‘90s alt-rock and the synth density of ‘80s darkwave.. Their own sound blends melodic guitars, along with distinctive lead guitar and resonant synths.
Comprised of René Methner (all instruments and vocals) and Cindy Methner (backing vocals), their band name was born of their love for Greece, with para lia, (παραλία) meaning “coast” or “beach” in Greek – a name full of mystery but optimism, which both has history and evokes a balance of the masculine and feminine.
René Methner was raised in the eastern part of a divided Germany. Learning acoustic guitar from a young age, he finally hooked up with like-minded musicians upon moving to Cottbus for university, forming his first band and moving on to various other bands in the 90’ and 00’s – as guitarist, songwriter, and frontman.
While Methner began composing earlier, Para Lia first presented their music publicly in April 2018. “In 2017 I felt something inside musically and the inner need to let it out. So I started to write songs again… She makes me feel complete, we are soul mates. So it also feels in our music,” explains Methner. Around that time, Cindy came into his life and the couple transformed into a marriage and the musical tandem we know today as Para Lia.
“Para Lia is the most intimate music project I ever made. It is just everything I was breathing in with regards to music influences in the past few decades and my personal musical development over the years… what I ultimately breath out is Para Lia. For me, a song is beautiful if it radiates something special. I love good melodies and a loud and crunchy wall of sound, combined with gentle harmonies,“ says René Methner.
Para Lia’s musical influences include bands like Sebadoh, The Notwist, Dinosaur Jr., Motorpsycho, Pixies, Interpol, and Neil Young, not to mention the garage rock sound of the mid-1960s from bands like The Who, Creation, and The Eyes.
As of June 14, the ‘Hawk Hill’ single is out on digital platforms, including iTunes and Spotify. The special Bandcamp exclusive edition also includes two equally strong tracks and can already be pre-ordered at https://paralia.bandcamp.com/
TRACK LIST
1. Hawk Hill
2. Over It (single version)
3. On My Way Home
CREDITS
René Methner – Vocals, Guitars, Bassguitar, Mellotron, Keys, Drum Programming,
Cindy Methner – Vocals
Words and music, mixing and production by René Methner
Mastering by turnstylemastering, Berlin
Photos by Mrs. Agnes Sommer
‘Higher and Away’ (2018) https://youtu.be/
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