Rap duo Paris Texas is on the brink of leaving Earth behind. Their debut album, “Mid Air,” explores the concept of escaping this doomed planet by saving up for a one-way ticket to Mars. “The sun is whooping’ everybody’s ass,” they lament. “Earth has finally given up.” On a scorching day in downtown Los Angeles, it’s not hard to understand why they’ve come to such a conclusion. The sun is indeed whooping’ everybody’s ass today. In a warehouse studio where they’ve booked for their NME cover shoot, rapper-producer Louie Pastel stands shirtless with a worn-out MTV cap pushed back on his head. He holds a cigarette in one hand and DJs on his phone with the other.

The sounds filling the room are as diverse as one would expect from a group that’s been compared to Odd Future and Death Grips but defies easy categorization. They play music from Louisiana rapper Autumn!, Brazilian psychedelic samba from Novos Baianos, and Radiohead’s acoustic version of “Creep.” Beside him, his comrade Felix ponders the pros and cons of filming versus photo shoots. “In videos, you’re constantly moving, so you’re not stuck with one dumb face,” he muses. “Models are crazy! I don’t know how they do it.”

To build anticipation for “Mid Air,” Paris Texas recently released a series of music videos centered around the theme of blasting off to Mars, some featuring their longtime friend Mac DeMarco. These absurd and acerbic clips showcase their boundless creativity and storytelling skills that go beyond music. In fact, Louie, who grew up in Compton, originally dreamt of becoming an actor or comic book artist. “I just liked creating stuff,” he explains, taking a seat on a couch. “Music wasn’t at the forefront of what I wanted to do.”

Meanwhile, Felix in nearby South Central was sneaking his older sister’s iPod to listen to early Drake mixtapes, Lil Wayne, and Kanye. Kanye’s “The College Dropout” album was on repeat. “In middle school, I listened to ‘Get Em High’ a lot,” he remembers. “At that time, I didn’t know I wanted to do music. I just liked it.”

The pair met while attending community college in 2013 and bonded over their love for underground rapper Robb Bank$. Louie was already making beats using Ableton on his laptop and playing them for anyone who would listen. Encouraged by friends, he began taking music more seriously, even considering quitting school. “My last semester there, I showed this kid Wes some beats, and he was like, ‘You show a lot of people beats, and I haven’t heard you talk about school once!'” recalls Louie. “He said, ‘Maybe you should quit school and do music full time.'”

Felix, on the other hand, was quietly jotting down rhymes and recording with a home mic and a “shitty ass version of Pro Tools.” He didn’t feel confident enough to share his music with anyone. “I wasn’t telling anybody,” he admits. “I didn’t feel like I earned the title of someone who made music because I wasn’t putting it out.”

In 2014, both Louie and Felix started performing at small gigs in parties and art shows across LA, still considering themselves as separate artists. However, they soon realized that they were always being booked together, so they decided to collaborate and help each other with their music. “That was the initial plan: Get good at whatever you want to do, feel more comfortable, and then we’d do our own thing,” explains Louie. “But, we ended up just constantly making music together.”

What truly brought them together was their shared commitment to only releasing the music they genuinely loved. In 2018, they officially formed Paris Texas, taking their name from a Wim Wenders film after stumbling upon a still from the movie on Tumblr. They thought the contrast between seemingly disparate places reflected their diverse sound. Their debut EP, “I’ll Get My Revenge In Hell,” gained some attention upon its release, but rather than capitalizing on the buzz, they disappeared until they felt they had something truly meaningful to say. That moment came in 2021 with the viral single “Heavy Metal,” followed by the mixtape “Boy Anonymous” and the second EP “Red Hand Akimbo.” What started as a hobby had become their lives. “When you’re pursuing something creative like music that goes against the grain, everyone – parents, girlfriends – sees you as lazy and thinks you don’t want to work hard,” says Louie. “Once I got started, I was determined to work as hard as I possibly could.”

In March 2022, Louie and Felix retreated to Mount Shasta, a serene town in northernmost California, to focus on their full-length project away from the distractions of LA. However, their recording sessions were cut short by tragedy when Felix received news of his father’s death and had to rush back to LA. The loss looms over “Mid Air,” a record that couldn’t help but be influenced by their shock and grief. “It’s taken from real life,” explains Felix. “As you get older, you realize that not everyone is going to make it. It’s something you forget because you’re used to them, and you think they’re going to be there forever.” There’s a reflection on mortality woven throughout “Mid Air,” from the album’s attention-grabbing opening line (“Who wants to rock? Who wants to roll? Who wants to die?”) to the morbid rumble of the standout track “Everybody’s Safe Until… ” (“Death on my mind, I got death on my mind” repeats in the chorus). It’s no wonder Paris Texas is eager to escape Earth, or at least Los Angeles.

Interestingly, they seem to feel more at home in London, which they visited for the first time during the “Boy Anonymous” tour in 2021 and instantly fell in love with. They pay homage to the trip with the tongue-in-cheek track “Full English,” listing the best of British culture from Harry Potter to rolling cigarettes. “We were there for about two weeks, and it was really fun. We made a lot of memories,” says Felix, to which Louie adds, “London feels like somewhere I would like to move to soon. When I’m there, I feel like it’s home.”

The pair also mentions King Krule as a fan of his music, saying, “I feel like he’s the one artist who really broke through here,” explains Louie. “He was our introduction to that world.” References to Britain continue on the track “Lana Del Rey,” named as a nod to the fact that Lana Del Rey has a song called “Paris, Texas” on her latest album. As Louie reveals, the idea was inspired by the Washington mathcore band The Fall of Troy. “I grew up listening to them and really liked them, and they did the same thing with Tom Waits,” he explains. “Tom Waits has a song called ‘The Fall Of Troy,’ and The Fall of Troy has a song called ‘Tom Waits.’ It’s more of an homage to them than to Lana Del Rey, which is funny. I thought it was a perfect opportunity.”

We’re speaking four days after the release of “Mid Air,” a moment that Louie, who wrote all the music, played guitar, and drums on the album, finds particularly gratifying. “It’s like a fucking weight off my shoulders!” he grins. “I can finally think freely. I feel complete bliss. People are loving it, which is cool.” Well, most people. Louie has been reading online comments. “Some people still criticize our writing ability, which is so stupid!” he complains. “Weirdly enough, doing anything alternative attracts more criticism than doing something mainstream. I think the production is amazing, and…”