Fit of Body is the moniker of Ryan Parks, a mixed media artist, producer, performer and founder of mainstay 'blood-sucking' cassette tape label Harsh Riddims. Growing up skating across Atlanta, he's become a follow-worthy all-rounder passing out nuggets of soulful house, freestyle, jazz, Detroit techno and Southern rap with a New Wave, noise slant.

The imminent release of Fit of Body's debut on the 2MR label titled 'Black Box No Cops' is the perfect excuse to check in with the man himself on happiness routines, the best skate movie of all time and primo IG follows.

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KNOTORYUS: What do you do to make yourself happier?

RYAN PARKS: I like to jog in the morning, that’s a quick fix for me.

KNOTORYUS: What’s your favourite skate movie of all time? 

RYAN PARKS: Thank you for this question! I’m going with Ruin Skateshop’s 'The Ruin' Video, from 2000. That was the first time I saw local skaters filming at the spots that were around me. I still watch that video with complete fascination.

KNOTORYUS: Which Harsh Riddims track (recent or older) have you been playing a lot recently?

RYAN PARKS: Divine Interface’s '2 Naps' off of the new tape.

KNOTORYUS: Who should we follow on Instagram and why?

RYAN PARKS: @thebuntlive has been on it lately. Their podcast is great, and they’ve been posting clips of the host skating lately, performing smooth styles.

KNOTORYUS: Name one thing that inspired your music recently.

RYAN PARKS: I went on this road trip from Denver to Seattle recently. I try to play music every day, so being forced to take a break was probably a good thing. It gave me time to gather some new ideas, and just think about what I could be doing differently.

Video: Fit Of Body feat. Coco - Rose Water

KNOTORYUS: What was the last thing you bought that actually made you a happier person?

RYAN PARKS: I went to Lotties Skate Shop in LA a couple of weeks ago and bought one of their shirts. I like the owner’s (Mike Gigliotti) artwork a lot.

KNOTORYUS: What are you most worried about these days?

RYAN PARKS: Money, but is it even real?

KNOTORYUS: What are you most excited about right now?

RYAN PARKS: Probably this Odwalla 1221 show I'm doing, it’ll be cool to play with them. Also, I think I’m going to get my 5 year-old brother to play drums for me for another show that’s coming up.

KNOTORYUS: A prodigy! Tell us about a YouTube video you love.

RYAN PARKS: The new Quasi video just went online, going to watch that as soon as I wrap this up!

KNOTORYUS: When your music (or anything on Harsh Riddims) drops, are you able to enjoy it? Or are you one of those perfectionists who’s always fretting about details that could have gone better?

RYAN PARKS: I enjoy releasing other people’s music on HR a lot. I kind of hate releasing my own projects, but I think that keeps me going.

This will mark the first time all of these tracks will be available on vinyl - previously they could only be found on cassette or download. Further, the album will feature unreleased tracks from Cringe Machine as well as a TWINS remix of Love Letters' contribution Nag. An interview of Harsh Riddims' Ryan Parks by 2MR's Mike Simonetti (and vice versa) make up the liner notes and the labels will be throwing parties in NYC and Atlanta to celebrate the release. NYC: https://www.facebook.com/events/317177128639778/ ATL: https://www.facebook.com/events/332792207058098/ Harsh Riddims started a few years back. Our first release was a compilation tape featuring some of my best friends. Stefan Ringer (REKchampa), Drew Briggs (Divine Interface), and Matt Weiner (TWINS) live here in Atlanta. They are among the most talented and encouraging individuals I know. B L A C K I E is good friends with Negashi Armada (Bluntfang). Negashi suggested asking him for a track, and he turned in "It's hot livin n' tha south". That's one of my favourite tracks off of the first compilation. About a year ago, we released the second comp. This record is a mix of the two, featuring a few unreleased tracks. I met RAMZI while on tour in Montreal. Love Letters is my friend Maxime Robillard, who lives in New York City. ThinkThrice is a kid in Atlanta that ordered one of Stefan's tapes. We later met at a house party: I'm pretty psyched he's got a track on here! WGM is Gavin Mays out of Memphis. He also produces as Cities Aviv. Cringe Machine is my good friend Justin Bauman. He passed away not too long ago, so I feel really fortunate to be able to share one of his songs. He was a big influence on me, and was overall a really sweet and giving person. Much love towards his family! Lastly, Co/Coaches is one half of Coco and Clair, Taylor Nave. She's such a talented song writer, buck performer; she's one my favorites. Hope you dig!

To purchase 'Black Box No Cops' by Fit of Body on vinyl, cassette or online, you can go here.

Images (c) Omnian Music Group