INTERVIEW – Alexi Paraschos Releases First Single ‘Mine’ From New Album ‘Love Odyssey’

In preparation for the release of his second album, ‘Love Odyssey’, Alexi Paraschos drops his brand-new single, ‘Mine’ – which is now available to stream on all major streaming sites here.

So who is Alexi Paraschos? He is an award-winning R&B and pop singer/songwriter. His songs are written with pure emotion – making you connect with them instantly. He recently posted a 10-minute long Youtube video announcing the release of “Love Odyssey” – watch here:

LOVE ODYSSEY—ALBUM VISUAL (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

Following the announcment, we got in touch with the singer to talk about all of his exciting news.

Hi Alexi! Hope you’re doing well during this crazy time. Why don’t you start by telling us a little bit about your most recent single “Mine”? Where did the inspiration come from?

Hey, and thank you so much….I hope you are well as well! Yes, I actually wrote ‘Mine’ almost three years ago now–when I started dating again and talking to someone on OkCupid. I wrote the song only a few days into chatting with them (!), but I was feeling really good about her and thought that the names that someone calls their partner would be a fresh song idea. After we kept talking, I finally got the nerve to play it for her and, to my relief, she said, “that’s going to be your next hit!” Fast forward three years and she is now my fiancée and ‘Mine’ is (hopefully!) going to be my next hit! (I am also releasing a video in the next couple of weeks that shows the evolution of the song so you can hear the very first audio recording from three years ago..from the moment I had the very first idea!)

This single is your most recent release from your upcoming album “Love Odyssey.” What can you tell us about that? Is “Mine” a good indicator as to what else will be on the album? What else does the album have in store?

The idea for ‘Love Odyssey’ came to me after a really meaningful trip to my father’s homeland of Greece. It was the first time I was there on my own, and I had the chance to visit my father’s old stomping ground in Athens: his neighborhood, his high school, and his apartment. Being able to imagine my father as a little child—running through those streets, saying “hi” to those neighbors, scraping his knees on those playgrounds—gave the country and my Greek ancestry a whole new significance, and I wanted to find a way to bring that into what is most personal to me—my music.

Around that time I also got engaged! So when my producer, Tony Moore, and I stepped back and looked at all of the songs I was writing, we realized that they were all love songs. And we both just fell in love with the idea of “Love Odyssey”. It combined the Greek side of me that I was looking to bring into the music, plus the love songs I was writing, and it also gave an added element of a “journey” that was mystical and something else we could play with.

One of the ways I was able to incorporate my Greek heritage was through the Album Visual that dropped two weeks ago. The visual is actually ten, 1-min videos that serve as “video previews” for the ten tracks on the project. It was inspired by Tierra Whack’s, “Whack World,” as it also fits into one, seamless 10-min video. The album visual combines romantic, contemporary “date locations” (restaurant, movie theater, art gallery) with imagery from Homer’s “Odyssey” (a cyclops, the sirens, the woman who turned men to pigs). The video was a really cool way to capture the idea of “Love Odyssey,” plus it provided some crazy, eye-catching visuals—including my ear getting torn off and eaten!

Musically, ‘Love Odyssey’ is an album of feel-good, “groove-ful” love songs. We wanted to create a project that had the timelessness of a “Thriller” or “Off The Wall” but for 2020, and that could stand with the musical aesthetics of Travis Scott or Tyler, the Creator. I have to give HUGE credit to my other Executive Producers, Tony Moore and Boots Greene, who are musical giants and did an incredible job bringing my songs to life in a way that I could never have imagined. I think “Mine” is definitely a good song to start with on this project—a recognizable, retro vibe with a catchy, fresh hook—but there is still A LOT more that we have on the way, including appearances from Jadakiss, Chrisette Michele, Amina Buddafly and more.

You seem to have a variety of features on this album including; Natalie Stewart of Floetry, Chrisette Michele and Jadakiss as well as others. Which one would you say is your favourite and how did that collaboration come about?

Man…I feel SO lucky to have all of those artists on this project. It still blows my mind every time I hear my words being sung by them or see their names with mine on the credits. I have to give another huge thanks to my producer, Tony Moore, who was the one that put the word out and was able to get in touch with each of them or their respective teams. And I honestly can’t pick one that is my favourite – I think what is so great about them is how each feature provided something so unique: Jadakiss, M11son and T3 rapped their own verses, Amina Buddafly and Chrisette Michele brought their incredible voices, Natalie Stewart wrote her own spoken word verse…it is such a unique project with such diverse talent, and I’m just lucky to have been part of this amazing team.

Whilst we’re on the subject of collaborations, who would your dream collab be and why?

Ooh, great question….very tough though! Too many at the top to say just one…..Kirk Franklin is someone who has so influenced my songwriting and arranging, I would love to do something with him. Stevie Wonder is another one who I would love to work with and learn from. PJ Morton is someone else I have SO admired for being successful and staying true to himself and his own sound. And I also love Bruno Mars and Janelle Monaé, and think it would be crazy to get to write something with them. (Sorry for the lack of commitment, lol!)

You’re clearly a very talented song-writer and musician. Could you explain what your creative process is when writing a song?

Thank you so much, that is very kind! First off, the process for the bulk of the song is usually very quick for me, I don’t like to take too long or get bogged down at any point. I write using my guitar or piano, and songs will usually begin with a catchy melody and lyrical line that I can build into the chorus. This becomes the foundation of the song and the central concept from which all others flow. I’ll then usually work backwards to create the pre-chorus and verses, always coming back to the central idea (what is the chorus saying?) and angles from which to support it (how can I reiterate/say something new/agree with that?). For a good song, that whole process (which is the skeleton of the song), usually takes between 1-5 hours and is important that it is all done in one sitting while the ideas are flowing. Afterwards or the next day I’ll revise, take out/add to the ideas, but as long as I have that overall outline, I can build on top of it.

What else would you like to achieve in your music career? 

My goal for my music career has always been longevity: I want to be able to get up and make music all day—and travel!—while being able to provide for my family. Whether that is as an artist, touring and being out in the public, or as a songwriter and more behind the scenes…being able to create in the long term is my priority. I, in fact, have great respect for those top songwriters who write and are in the studio working with big names, whose names you never know because they aren’t huge celebrities! If I can get that foundation covered, all of the other hopes, dreams, collabos, and big ideas will be possible.

With the release of the album, 2020 is looking like a good year for you. Do you have any more plans this year that you could tell us about? Or even going in to 2021?

Haha, does just making it through a global pandemic count?? Things obviously have gotten a little thrown off with the current crisis, primarily touring and live performances. We are fortunately still able to do much of the release campaign as planned, I think there will be a little more of a focus on behind-the-scenes work (securing TV, movie, ad placements with the music, etc). I would love to do a tour with this music whenever that may be possible again, but it’s honestly too hard to try to project any more than that at the moment! And I am just fortunate for the health I have now, and for my upcoming wedding and the “Love Odyssey” that will be!

Thank you so much to Alexi for taking time out of his day to speak with us! For more updates on his album release, visit Alexi’s website! Show him further support by following his Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, as well as his official website.

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