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Berlin-based Australian band, Parcels, have quickly found their rise to fame and if you haven’t heard of them yet, tune up below.
In April 2016, Parcels played their first show in France at Paris’ well-known bar, Les Baines after signing with French label Kitsuné just 12 months before. Oblivious and in the moment, little did they know that they were playing in front of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, more commonly known as electronic music duo, Daft Punk.
“This tiny, sweaty little club; at some stage we heard murmurs of it before the show, ‘The robots are coming’ but we blew it off. Then after the show we met them, turns out they came, and they basically said ‘we like what you’re doing. We’d like you to come to our studio and hang out…”, told Parcels to the ABC.
Over the course of a year, and delving deep into the world of music producing, the team embarked on a collaboration resulting in the hugely popular “Overnight”, a fusion of pop and disco.
When you listen to their first major track, you wouldn’t believe that this band had recently finished high school. All members of the five-piece band grew up in the coastal town of Byron Bay in New South Wales, commonly known for its laid back lifestyle and the music festival ‘Splendour In The Grass’. At the closing of 2014, the band was keen to begin their music careers.
“We really just were running on this high of finish schooling and leaving. A few people recommended Berlin, we heard it was central and looked fun so just hopped on a plane here,” the band told NME.
What was a bold move at the time forced the group to find work fast, firstly with ‘clockscared’ in 2015 and then again with 2016’s EP ‘Hideout’, all of which was recorded in their apartment. Two years later, Louie Swain (keys), Patrick Hetherington (keys), Noah Hill (bass), Anatole “Toto” Serret (drums) and Jules Crommelin (guitar) are now looking to debut their first album which is set to be self-produced. The band however are taking their time, ensuring it’s their best work.
“We’ve been very clear with everybody we can’t rush it,” Patrick says. “We definitely are relaxed people. We’re very much, down at the core, Australian dudes from the beach. But it’s become very clear that rushing is always a bad idea”. “Sometimes it’s perfect right away and sometimes you really need that time. It needs to age and you need space away from the songs to understand it.” This is evident with their latest track, ‘Tieduprightnow”, which took a year to produce.
With the laid back ’70s vibe commonplace in their music, Places takes their styling in the same direction. From the leather jackets, high-waisted pants and ribbed crew socks, they display the throwback fashion in the coolest way possible. Even down to the facial hair, Parcels innate disco-pop and their style so organic, this is possibly one of the reasons why they are finding fame so early on.
“We were never drawn to it – I just think sometimes it feels like we’re detached from the modern age in many ways,” Patrick explained to NME.
If you’re keen to catch Parcels in action, they are performing live at the All Points East festival in London during May 27. And if you can’t make it we’d recommend adding these guys to your Spotify playlist ASAP.
