 Courtesy of the Artist
A Grammy Award and VMA-winning musician, recording artist, producer, and songwriter who has worked with the Black Eyed Peas, Mark Ronson, Fergie, John Legend, and many more, Printz Board (nee Priese Prince Lamont Board) begins a new musical chapter with his latest project, Parker Lane. A musical family with Printz and Nova Renay at the core, Parker Lane emerged with their current EP, Replay, putting forth a sensitive and accessible folk-pop sound that is sonically different from Printz’s precious body of solo work. Printz explains Parker Lane’s origins,
“I was doing my first album, Pre-Games, and a lot of people told me how it sounded like the Black Eyed Peas and how amazing it was, but I realized that I didn’t own my sound anymore, which was not a good thing. I knew I needed to search for something else, so I did a second album where I used percussion and acoustic guitar trying to find myself in this alternative world and people loved it, but the conversation stopped there. I realized something was missing, so we decided to do some covers one of which was Mumford & Sons’ “I Will Wait.” We got an incredible response, so the female singing at the time, Lucy Graves, said that we should do some originals in a similar vein and two weeks later, we had ten songs that just poured out and Parker Lane was born. The heavens opened and it all just clicked. It was like it was what we were supposed to be doing.”
The new EP, Replay contains six tracks - engaging and warm - including current single, “3A.M.”, that center around love and relationships, whether with a person or place. Printz says “The songs are largely pretty positive songs about love. While ‘Speechless’ centers around lust, ‘Til The End’ is written from the perspective of my grandfather being with my someone until the end of life and then getting back with that person after they pass over, and ‘Valentine’ is about that magical place that’s full of love.”
While he was heavy-handed in the writing of the tunes, Printz says his process is “more about energy and flow” rather than strictly sitting down and writing a song. “Those six songs came out of about thirty ideas. We figured which ones were bubbling the most then I played them for Nova and she would say what she liked, and we would take it from there.” That flow also plays a large part in song placement with the heavenly “Valentine” opening the project as the trumpet-accented “Speechless” closes things out on a sexy, sensitive note. “When you put an album together, it’s incredible how one song can sound so different depending whether it comes before or after another. We were in the mastering room listening to the songs and the vibe just seemed to flow with this energy, so when we ordered the EP, we did it by energy as opposed to any sort of story.” While Nova, who sang on two tracks on the EP, is a now a core member, Printz called upon a few guests to fill the female vocals on Replay. “When we started, Lucy Graves and I were in a relationship, but we broke up which made it harder to push forward. I loved the project to death, so at that point, I reached out to my friends to help me keep it going. Esthero, who is a fantastic artist on her own, sang on “Me and You”, Holly Palmer sang on “Little Things”, and then I met Nova during the process.” While an integral creative force for the Black Eyed Peas, Printz who co-wrote “My Humps,” “Don’t Punk with My Heart,” “Where Is the Love?” and “Meet Me Halfway,” and has been a producer and writer for everyone from Andra Day, Gallan, Selena Gomez, Keyshia Cole, Dr. Dre, and Katy Perry, finds working on his own material more daunting than working with others. “Working on this stuff, in particular, is a bit more difficult just because I can’t take myself outside of judging my vocals, my performance, and everything else. When it’s someone else, I can always tell them if something doesn’t work for them or what we can do better, but when it’s your own work, it’s different.” Nova adds, “It’s harder when it’s your own material because you’re not a second set of ears anymore. When you write, it’s your heart on the table, so it’s hard to come in with your head and be like ‘alright, how should this be?’” With their hearts on the table, sharing their songs that are incredibly heartfelt and relatable, Printz says this band is his priority, “We’re not looking for lightning in a bottle, we’re taking it as it comes.” Adding, “Parker Lane is definitely my primary focus. I produce other bands and I love doing that, but this project really soothes my heart. It’s my calling now.” Parker Lane will be announcing tour dates soon. For all the information visit the links below. Website/Facebook/Twitter/Insta
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