The idea of a large group of artists coming together for a project appears to be an ongoing trend within the music industry. From indie superstars Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire to hip-hop acts like the Wu-Tang Clan and, more recently, Odd Future, this model breaks from the traditional band structure and allows its members to fully contribute their talents without being locked down and pigeonholed to a single position within the context of the group.
To label Last Night in Paris, the UK collective made up of 18 to 22 year old singers, artists, and producers, as merely a band would not be doing the group justice. Everything that Paris does is DIY, resulting in an organic and original experience that allows the members to disregard anything that does not gel with their vision of how they should be represented.
Rather than simply releasing Roses, their EP that came out back in February, the group decided to infuse their talents and skills to create the visuals for said project, an 18-minute epic that combines elements of downtempo, R&B, and hip-hop, to make a loose-running narrative that embodies the aforementioned genres of music. The video starts off with a mesmerizing kaleidoscope, juxtaposed with a smooth jam that would make The Weeknd's knee's go weak.
Following that, we have a seamless transition into "So Very", a track that continues to ride the R&B wave of the previous tune. The next two tracks, "Entertained" and "Breathe", provide a minimalistic-yet-powerful feeling and a chilling atmosphere, crescendoing to "Before You", a track that begins in a heavy and distorted manner, but finishes with some thought-provoking questions. "Blackout", a track perfectly suitable for the club and one of my favourites from the EP, immediately precedes the final song "•••", which is a perfect bookend to a fantastic listening experience.
Last Night in Paris will be performing at Glastonbury on Sunday, June 30th. Make sure you give these guys a listen and check out Roses in its entirety before these guys make it big and become a household name.
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