FEATURED PROJECT

Paris Zax
Unpath'd Waters
CATALOG MATERIAL
Busdriver
Fear Of A
Black Tangent


Busdriver
Temporary Forever

Blackbird
Fetterless

Existereo
Dirty Deeds &
Dead Flowers

Metfly
Wiggin' Out

Neila
For Whom
The Bells Crow

Shape Shifters
Planet Of The Shapes
Shape Shifters
Was Here
Full discography coming soon
For the discerning listener, Paris Zax is a breath of fresh air whose musical range encompasses a virtual jukebox of instrumental might. Exposed to heavy duty thinking cap material while young, Paris had everyone from Mozart to Lou Reed to Bowie, Miles Davis, Lighting Hopkins, Led Zeppelin, and of course Hendrix, laying the law down for any futurist soundscaping, courtesy of his father and older brothers. Armed with drum kit skills since 12-years-old, this college dropout has provided the backbeat backgrounds for Los Angeles luminaries such as Busdriver (Temporary Forever and Fear Of A Black Tangent), Existereo (Dirty Deeds & Dead Flowers), Awol One, The Shape Shifters, Ellay Khule, Blackbird, Neila, and Metfly.

After cutting his teeth on those plus a slew of other beats, Paris was then ready to begin work on his solo opus. "It took me my whole life to make..." he says when asked about the origin and evolution of his debut album Unpath'd Waters. He cites legendary jazz producer and close friend Jack Lewis, and his immense musical knowledge, as the catalyst that pushed the album in the direction under which it was incubated. Recording the majority of the album in a studio apartment in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles, his primary goal was to produce "an album that people could press play and not have to skip a track." That goal, although hard to achieve by most, was easily surpassed and reset by young Mr. Zax. Unpath'd Waters is the end result -- a seamless collage of hip-hop, jazz, blues and psychedelic rock. Paris does everything from hand-over scores to detective cinema noir films that never made it off of the cutting room floor to constructing real compositional pieces that go above and beyond the "beat tape" philosophy that so many bedroom producers seem to hold dear to their hearts in this day and age. Guest performers include Ozomatli bassist Will Dog, as well as jazz giants Snooky Young and Bob Elford. Snooky has played with Count Basie, Duke Ellington and many others over the years; his first recording was in 1930. Paris describes the recording experience with heartfelt reverence: "Working with them was great. Real legends and masters of their art. I feel extremely lucky just to have met them."

With plans to stay occupied in the coming days collaborating with lyricists Subtitle and Blackbird for their respective projects along with "saving some beats for a second instro," Paris is gearing himself up for a very busy year ahead. With aspirations heading in the movie scoring and TV soundtrack direction, he's well on his way to becoming another key numeral in the instrumental versus neocomposer battle being waged in record store aisles and chat rooms abound. And this is only his first album.
NEWS FLASH
Paris Zax review in new XLR8R
Unpath'd Waters gets an amazing write-up in the September issue of XLR8R: "Easily one of the best instrumental/downtempo hip-hop albums of the year." Peep this link for the full review.
(Sep-12-05)
Paris Zax review on ukhh.com
Check out this wonderful review from the UK. Read it here.
(Apr-13-05)
Unpath'd Waters continues to rock college radio everywhere
Paris is getting spins at KSPC (Claremont), KBOO (Portland), XM Radio (Nationwide), KSJS (San Jose), KPSU (Portland), KAOS (Olympia), and KZUU (Pullman).
(Apr-8-05)
Unpath'd Waters release day
A historic day for Alpha Pup, as our first new release Unpath'd Waters by Paris Zax hits stores worldwide. The album is currently featured on the front of iTunes hip-hop page, as well as in the New This Week section on MSN Music.
(Apr-5-05)
Alpha Pup Store is now open
The online store is cracking. We are taking pre-orders for Paris Zax Unpath'd Waters and Ricci Rucker Fuga. Click here.
(Mar-29-05)
Unpath'd Waters on the radio
The onslaught has begun. Paris Zax has been added to regular rotation on KZSU (Stanford), KZSC (Santa Cruz), KTUH (Honolulu), and KUNM (New Mexico) Keep it comin...
(Mar-28-05)
Paris Zax street promo begins
Our first batch of Paris Zax teaser flyers has arrived, and we are hitting the streets hard. If you'd like to help out and join our street team, email Kev.
(Feb-4-05)
Paris Zax signs to Alpha Pup
It's official. Paris Zax is now an official part of the Alpha Pup roster of artists. We are proud to present his instrumental debut album, Unpath'd Waters in stores April 5th.
(Jan-21-05)
CONTACT(S)
For production inquiries
production@pariszax.com
For press inquiries
danyell@alphapuprecords.com
For retail inquiries
dkev@alphapuprecords.com