There are a few times throughout “ITS MY WORLD”, one of the tracks in Parris Goebel’s new seven-song EP, A GIRL IS A DRUG, when Goebel declares “I am the party”. And it’s true – for years, the world-renowned choreographer has been bringing some of pop culture’s biggest songs and moments – like Rihanna’s 2023 Super Bowl performance and The Beyoncé Bowl NFL halftime show – to life. This year, Goebel was the creative director behind Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” video, for which she won a VMA, while also working on the Mayhem Ball Tour and Gaga’s Coachella headline performance. But 2025 was also the year that Goebel committed to releasing her own music. With A GIRL IS A DRUG, she cements herself as a pop star in her own right. 

Fans of Goebel will know that she previously released an EP, Vicious, under the name PARRI$ in 2016. Then, she stopped making music. “I just had a really bad experience, to be honest,” she says. “I think I was a lot younger, naive and was put into the wrong hands; it really traumatised me, to be real.” The years that followed, she says, involved “hiding” behind other artists – until she started working with Australian record producer Kito, who executive-produced the EP. “If you can just find one person who believes in you, nurtures your vision and puts a battery in your back, that’s all you really need,” says Goebel. “With Kito, I finally found someone that I could feel safe with.” 

Raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Goebel started choreographing at ten. The Samoan artist has always been exposed to many genres of music, including traditional Polynesian. It makes sense then that A GIRL IS A DRUG draws on global club and dance music influences, spanning Jersey club, UK garage and dancehall. It’s an EP you can really dance to, with features from BEAM, Sadboi and Jelani Blackman. Alongside choreography, Goebel has also been DJing more in recent years: she often goes back-to-back with Diplo (and is signed with his label, Mad Decent).

A GIRL IS A DRUG, as a true dance EP, was first put to the test at a private listening party with Entire Studios at a warehouse space in Downtown LA on November 23. Goebel and Dylan Richards-Diaz, co-founder of Entire Studios, have a long-standing friendship, so it was a full-circle moment for the artist, who used to practice DJing at Richards-Diaz’s birthday parties. There, in a warehouse doubling as a VIP sample sale before huge plastic sheets were pulled back to reveal a dancefloor, Goebel danced on stage until 2am with Kito and Tommy Genesis. She played unreleased music to guests – including BB Trickz, Benee, Raven Tracy, Liz Cambage, Delilah Summer and other people in Goebel’s global community – who created cyphers on the dance floor. 

After the party, we caught up with Goebel about all things new: New Year’s resolutions, New Zealand designers and a new era of Parris Goebel music.

Why was now the moment for you to release A GIRL IS A DRUG?

Parris Goebel: It was just an itch that I needed to scratch. I’ve been wanting to do it for a while now, but just never made the time for myself. I just kept kind of committing to other artists. This year, I finally made the commitment to put myself and my vision first. It sounds like a really easy thing to do, but when opportunities are constantly coming up, it’s actually a really hard decision to make. Then, last New Year’s, I was like, ‘I’m going to do it and make the jump’. And I did. 

But you’ve also had a big year aside from this EP. How did you make time for your own music?

Parris Goebel: Man, it was so hard, to be honest. It was really, really challenging. With Gaga and Coachella, any day I had off wasn’t a day off. I was going to the studio in any spare minute. I didn’t rest, and I didn’t stop, but that was a sacrifice I was willing to make just to finish the project. It was a commitment I made to myself. I’m the type of person who, if I want to do something, I'm going to do it.

I love that. And you’ve obviously always been a storyteller through movement, so what kind of artist do you want to be when it comes to sound?

Parris Goebel: I just see it as an extension of myself, my personality, and my creativity magnified through sound. With music, it’s more than just the music; it’s an experience. It can make you move and feel things – it’s emotional. This music is very me. Even when you listen to the project, there are so many genres on it. I don’t see any boundaries and don’t want to box myself in. 

What drew you to these global club and dance music influences?

Parris Goebel: I create from a place of music you can dance to and pour into your world, so it became part of my creative vocabulary. It’s only natural that when I went to create music, I was pulling from the sounds I surround myself with. I travel a lot, and being able to discover music in different countries has been such a blessing to me. Constantly being at parties in different countries, diving into those genres and meeting new people all grow my musical vocabulary. My library of sound. 

How did you start working with Kito?

Parris Goebel: I met Kito a few years ago in London, and then I bumped into her at one of my best friend’s birthday parties at the end of last year. We reconnected and she was like, ‘You should make music again’. I had actually already been thinking about it, and she gave me so much support and validation that it gave me the confidence to step back in the studio. We had no idea we were going to actually work on a project. It just started out as me getting it out of my system. 

How much does your background in choreography play into how you make music? 

Parris Goebel: The process is a little opposite because usually I get given music and create choreography. For my own music, it’s creating something that’s going to want to make me move. If I’m in the studio and it’s making me want to dance, that’s my creative compass. If I’m dancing, I’m on the right track. 

If I’m in the studio and it’s making me want to dance, that’s my creative compass. If I’m dancing, I’m on the right track

What about Sebastian Hunt and Dylan Richards-Diaz from Entire Studios? I know you go way back, so why was it important for you to continue to work with New Zealand designers and brands?

Parris Goebel: I feel like I’ve known them since I was maybe 17. I knew Dylan back home through mutual friends, worked with them on Justin Bieber’s Sorry video, and we’ve just always supported one another. I think when you align with someone who has grown up in the same place as you, especially it being a small country that’s so far from the industry, you know how hard it is to get to the top. We’ve always been in each other’s corner, and this party was kind of a no-brainer. 

How did it feel bringing everyone together to celebrate your music?

Parris Goebel: It felt like it was truly all my favourite people in one room. And having the dance community there, with people I’ve worked on jobs for Rihanna, Gaga and everyone, was my favourite part. There were people I’ve grown up with, trained, made music with and even just crossed paths with. Looking around, I could see all these beautiful, creative people who have been a part of my journey in some way, shape or form.

I heard you played some unreleased songs, too? Does that mean there’s more coming? 

Parris Goebel: 100 per cent. I loaded the new music onto my USB, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to play it or not, but I was like, ‘Fuck it, let’s just go for it’. Everyone in the room started going crazy. 

You’ve been part of some of the most iconic cultural moments in the last decade. Do you see A GIRL IS A DRUG as a continuation of that legacy or a step into something new?

Parris Goebel: I don’t know. I don’t really look at everything I’ve done as one big thing. They are all such individual moments to me personally. I know some people may look at my work as a whole, but it’s been over a long span of time, and I’ve changed as a person, so I see them as all these individual moments. It’s really hard for me to wrap my head around it being a legacy. I just had this dream when I was young, and now I’m fucking living it. Sometimes I’m like, ‘How did I get here?’ It’s all a bit of a trip to me. I’m just going with the flow and doing whatever I want. 

What’s next then? New Year’s is coming up again. Do you have another big resolution?

Parris Goebel: I want to put out an album next year. That’s on the top of my list. I just think the potential of music is huge and, now that I’m DJing too, I want to play at big festivals. I want my music to be experienced by massive crowds. That would be the dream. I’ve dropped two music videos, but I feel like I’m just scratching the surface with visuals. I’m just warming up, and the fact that everyone’s really excited is something that’s pushing me to just want to keep creating.