WE ARE PARASOLS

On Body Horror, Portland, OR (and Atlanta, GA) trio We Are Parasols meld new-wave synths, thundering industrial percussion, and a sly sense of humor into an eminently engaging slab of static-drenched noise pop. The breathy, sneer-sung vocals of D. Wood wind through a sonic landscape of cracking static and the hiss of rotting electronics. Rumbling sub-bass and chainsaw leads strut and swagger over a foundation of dark pop melody. The brutally beautiful chaos of Body Horror, the sonic contradictions and extremes, are as deeply expressive as the tales the lyrics tell.

We Are Parasols was founded in Portland, OR as the solo project of writer / producer / multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Wilkins (previously of Rosewater Elizabeth, underwater, and Allegra Gellar). Initially simply dubbed Parasols—the name inspired by a passage from Joan Didion’s memoir, “The Year of Magical Thinking”, the project grew into a duo with the addition of vocalist / synth player D. Wood. In 2015 long-time friend and musical partner, Alec Yeager, of Atlanta, Georgia, was asked to join. The trio decided to change their name to We Are Parasols, signifying a new level of partnership and commitment to the project and each other.

While early releases from the band drew primary from indie-electro, shoegaze, and post-rock, We Are Parasols has no particular allegiance to any given genre. Building off of their shoegaze foundation, their style has evolved continuously as their catalog has grown. Their 2017 soundtrack-to-a-dystopian-world concept album, Inertia, established the band as story tellers. Following Inertia, the band has released a steady stream of EPs, singles, and remixes; most notably the No Center Line LP and 2020’s instrumental EP, Orphaned.

“The tracks on Orphaned were originally slated to be a part of Body Horror”, explains Wilkins. “As the world shut down for Covid we decided to release those tracks as the first taste of the new project.” No one could have anticipated the prolonged nature of the pandemic, and that isolation changed the concept behind the new record – and the bands approach to songwriting - drastically.

While their prior work had always been conceptual and intellectualized, the prolonged isolation resulted in a looking inward. Wilkins elaborates, “we decided to abandon that approach and write far more personal songs about our lives and our relationships, past and present, while embracing D's pop influences and letting those instincts take a more central role”. Leaning into this reinvention, the band chose to stop using anything remotely like shoegaze guitar, seeking to balance the industrial core of the songs with something more inviting and human.

Written bi-coastally via the magic of file sharing, the trio pieced Body Horror together like an intricate puzzle. Each member comes up with ideas - loops or sounds or melodies – and shares them with the team. If there is consensus, the group then builds off of that foundation. The album was recorded at home studios, with Yeager handling programming and the remainder taking place at the home Wilkins and Wood share in Portland. In addition to the core trio, the record features guest vocals from Moriah West of Xibling on “Fully Automated Luxury Communism”. West also co-wrote the song. Adam Gonsalves from Telegraph Mastering mastered the record.

Body Horror represent an important evolution in the work of We Are Parasols. Underpinning the deep bass, industrial beats, and pop vocal melodies are deeply personal vignettes that speak to the universal experience of being human. “This album is about the contradictions and confusion of modern life” says Wilkins. “We explore themes that I think everyone can identify with… but we don’t have any answers. I think if anything, we’re declaring with absolute certainty that we’re lost. We can all at least be lost together, and I take some solace in that.”

D / Vocals, Synthesizers & Programming
Jeremy / Guitars, Synthesizers, Samples, Programming, & Vocals
Alec / Drums, Synthesizers, Samples, & Programming

NEW MUSIC

The new album, Body Horror (The Full Horror), is out now.

We’ve known since before we even finished the original Body Horror album that we wanted to put this extended version of the record together. We just weren’t sure what the format would be and we didn’t know that it would involve remixing and remastering the entire project. Body Horror (The Full Horror) contains all the pieces of our 5 year exploration of the body horror theme. The Full Horror includes the original 8 song Body Horror album along with the 4 non-album singles; “Feels Like I’ve had Enough”, “1995”, “Waste”, and “Tell Me When It’s Over”, and our 2020 instrumental industrial EP, Orphaned, which is 4 songs that started as demos for the album but were cut because D was never inspired to sing on them.

Days after we approved the final masters for the original Body Horror album a few events aligned, the purchase of a new computer and an unexpected software update to the program that we use to write, record, and mix, that allowed me to record and mix at higher sample rates than my system could previously handle. I was doing some tests, listening to mix sessions that were previously done at 44.1kHz processing at 96kHz instead. I immediately noticed a massive change in the overall sound of the mixes. There was more width and depth. There was a more open high end. There was just more space. We decided that Body Horror was already done and we would release the recently completed album as it was. But I immediately started working at 96k for everything moving forward.

Once we decided we would compile and release The Full Horror I went back and forth on the idea of remixing the entire record. We knew we had to remix at least two of the singles, “Feels Like I've Had Enough” and “1995” because we just weren’t happy with the original mixes. I also remixed the Orphaned EP and the new single, “Tell Me When It’s Over” was being recorded and mixed entirely at 96k. After months of back and forth we decided to move forward with the full remix and remaster because if anything was going to change or possibly improve these songs it was the added space. Also, remixing provided a consistency to the entire project.

Is the remixed and remastered version better than the original? Upon completion I can honestly say that it’s just different. I, for the moment, prefer the new version overall but there are still sections of certain tracks that when I do a picky A/B comparison I might prefer the original. Adam, our mastering engineer, described the new version as a “different listening experience”. It’s not a different album at all but listening to this version of the album feels different and I think this is the listening experience I prefer. I think this version invites the listener into the sonic environment we’ve created while the original keeps the listener on the outside, observing from a distance.

MUSIC LINKS

REMIXES

We Are Parasols have done remixes for Bloody Knives, Sex Park, Darkswoon, Xibling, CMB, The Gentry, Vibrissae, newphasemusic, and Hawks Do Not Share.
Below are a few examples we are currently allowed to share. If you’re interested in having We Are Parasols remix your song contact us.

Music Videos

PHOTOS