Phoenix, the indie pop French band, released an album, Ti Amo, last year and they have just recently dropped a music video for the song “Role Model.” In the music video, the band has digitally inserted themselves into the archival work of Helmut Newton. The band infiltrates the scene as Newton worked to get his iconic shots.
In some scenes, scattered across the house, intertwined, and mingling with guests while they play their instruments, the band inserts themselves into a classic 90’s house party for their backdrop. The music video also features models in photo shoots. One shot from a music video photo shoot goes on to become the backdrop for Phoenix as they advertise their new album and hot single, “Role Model.” The posters are plastered on walls and street corners, printed on magazines and newspapers. The band then is shot in the field, singing in the background as models pose and directors take photos. The band travels then to a museum where the photographs of the “role models” are being put up on display and they play in the empty museum before the event starts.
This music video is different than other music videos because the band is not the main focus. In most shots, they are hardly noticeable. Even though, their music is art; they are directing the audience’s attention to the models and to the photographer.
The video is directed by Lost Art. From the Lost Art website, one can see where the band got the inspiration from to use print propaganda in their music video to persuade others to listen and watch, which is exactly what Lost Art does on their website. In the “Role Model” music video, the grainy film and the leggy models in red lipstick, baggy white shirts, and short skirts gives the music video a vintage quality. The music video allows the audience to view this work as a piece of art.
Phoenix was on tour from 2017 to March 2018 to promote the release of Ti Amo and to persuade more fans to watch their cool new music video. In Ti Amo, the band explores the pop-rock side of their music as they use synth to create fun house beats that get the listener to dance and romantic moments that encourage the listener to take it slow.
Photo credit: Brett Padelford
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