For a third consecutive year Yons, one of Louisville’s hardest working and most prolific musician and producers, has released another album, The Laws Of Motion. And while it’s stocked with fistfuls of jams, “Parallel Park” is a particular example of not only Yons’ slick production skills but also the level of his musical skill and creativity. But perhaps the most compelling component of the song is Yons’ personal intentions behind it.
“I really wrote it for myself,” he says. “It helped me confront some of my most difficult growing pains, my shortcomings, my failures. Even petty ones like failing a driving test because of not being able to parallel park. I feel people can feel inspired to embrace their past and love who they are and turn their ‘Ls’ into ‘Ws,’ you know. In the beginning of the song, I am put inside the trunk of a car which is supposed to signify me suppressing my former self with the intention of killing him off. I guess, we can all relate to wanting to be someone different at points and maybe even hating ourselves, but I think embracing who you are, your experiences and building on that is the best way to grow.”
There’s a solemn groove in “Parallel Parking” that helps infuse the song with Yons’ uplifting intent, but it pairs subtly with a complex yet playful beat that incorporates a smorgasbord of deftly blended sounds from classy soul guitar leads, purring bass lines, keys and an impressive backing choir made entirely of Yons. Meanwhile, Yons’ flows sync naturally and logically.
“The album that this song is on [The Laws of Motion] was inspired a great deal by Songs In The Key Of Life and College Dropout. And, also by a lot of gospel music. I even created my own choir in my room by stacking my voice and playing some organ. People trip out a bit when I tell them the choir in the song is all me doing 30 takes from different areas in my room. But I wanted the song to feel like a short journey so I sort of bring in the choir as it goes along and build it up with the instruments and samples as it progresses.”
And while Yons’ message of accepting ourselves and our pasts is a rather large scale idea, it was actually the act of something trivial and mundane that brought him to it.
“This song is about coming into your own and accepting and owning the path you took to get where you are.” Yons pauses before laughing. “Also, about how annoying parallel parking is! But I felt it was a great ending for the album, and I think it completes the journey. It’s actually my favorite song from the project. I just feel parallel parking represents the ‘getting in line’ and being a part of the system. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It's actually not hard to do most of the time; it’s just a bit inconvenient. Trying to skip learning how to do it, feeling you’ll be an exception can end up holding you back.”
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