Marty Plaskon was 15 when he started parallel, sitting alone with Ableton and a small MIDI keyboard, too nervous to try singing. “I also didn’t know how to sing and was way too nervous to try,” he says, “so I started with a lot of sample-based production, including lo-fi hip hop, which I include on my Spotify profile as an homage to my childhood.” He was digging through dollar boxes at the local record store, flipping vinyl, pulling samples from wherever he could find them. “Listening to a lot of experimental rap at the time, my production skills grew quite quickly, trying to emulate certain beats and styles. As soon as I began to sing and use guitar though, I quickly found myself in the indie rock sphere.”
Six years on, the 21-year-old Canadian artist has 250,000 streams, a European tour behind him, and a Spotify editorial placement. His debut album frail crossed 100,000 streams. Today he releases “Finish Line,” a slow-building, string-laced indie folk rock track that starts with a whisper and ends, as he puts it, in a beautiful cacophony.
The guitar came late. parallel had been producing for years before Plaskon decided to learn the instrument, and even then, his reasons were practical. “I chose to learn guitar solely to record melodies and chords myself rather than using loops, and also to be able to play my songs live.” A long background in classical piano smoothed the transition — theory and muscle memory carrying over in ways he hadn’t expected. “In less than a year of picking up a guitar, I had recorded songs and played them on stage with a band.” Since 2024, it’s been central to everything he makes.
“Finish Line” didn’t arrive fully formed. “I rarely know how a song of mine is going to end,” Plaskon says. “I just keep going until it finds its way at an ending. The chord progression itself is pretty simple, but as the track went on, I kept adding extra layers and layers until I realized I was building this larger crescendo. After becoming aware of that shape, I changed some elements like the structure to make it more deliberate in its intensity.”
He wrote it with Dean Blunt somewhere in the back of his mind, specifically Blunt’s track “the rot,” along with Black Country, New Road. But King Krule is the more persistent presence. “King Krule is probably my biggest inspiration, and his beautiful chord progressions moved me to implement a lot of jazz chords into my songs.” Mac DeMarco shaped the words. “Mac DeMarco’s lyrical style has also inspired me to paint more with less.” What ties all four of his main influences together, he thinks, is a single quality. “In short, I can say it’s the intimate atmosphere that all of them create with their music. Every song from them creates this world that draws you in closely as soon as the song starts.”
Plaskon has written, recorded, mixed, and mastered everything himself in his bedroom. “I could never afford mixing and mastering,” he says, “so every release I try to upgrade my skills to the furthest level.” He’s not precious about collaboration when it comes from the right place — his friendship with link3 began in Montreal, a few months before they released “Renfrew Avenue” together, a song that hit 100,000 streams and led to a European tour. “The tour just felt like going on a trip with my friends.” But for his own music, the control matters. “I like to oversee every step of the process to truly make it my own. It tends to feel more efficient and makes the process super rewarding.”
The connection to the “nothing special.” label came through porch kiss, the slowcore artist who asked Plaskon to release a single through the imprint last August. The label puts parallel alongside sign crushes motorist and Sweet Boy, though Plaskon is clear-eyed about how loosely he fits. “It’s funny because I don’t really have a song in my discography that I really consider ‘slowcore.'” He was introduced to the community through the internet and found it warmer than most. “The community is kind, super supportive, and helped me get to where I am now. It extends beyond the internet; I was able to even meet porch kiss and artist Qozy at pk’s show in SF last year.”
His Spotify placement — “hollow pt. 2” landing on the Bedroom Pop playlist — came after years of pitching. “It took years of pitching my music to land something like this,” he says. The song already has almost 32,000 streams. “I’m extremely grateful and glad to see that it’s reaching so many people, and I hope that they stick around for more.”
The emotional openness in his songwriting comes from somewhere specific. “One of my main aims as a musician is to someday make a real impact on both mental health awareness and addiction support.” Regarding his own experiences, he says he’s never pulled back. “It’s important stuff to talk about.” There is one subject he’s still working up to. “The one area that I’ve found myself pulling back is with the topic of addiction in the home. It’s something I’m waiting to write about more thoughtfully as I continue navigating my strong feelings on substances and the topic in general as I enter adulthood.”
Five years ago, Marty Plaskon was a teenager with a laptop and a MIDI keyboard, too nervous to sing. “After all, 5 years ago I didn’t think I’d be anywhere close to where I am today,” he says. “I want to continue growing and collaborating with lots of awesome artists, while playing shows in more places. Right now is a turbulent time that has a lot of change, but as long as I’m making music and sharing it with everyone, I’m happy.”
“Finish Line” is out today.
