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curation-over-creation · 8 years ago

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Clean Bandit

So you might have, no, probably have already heard Clean Bandit and maybe not even known it. Their hit “Rather Be” was quite big at its time.

But something’s changed. Everything’s changed.

NB: Before you read any of this, I have to mention that this is my opinion and my opinion only. If you disagree at some point, please leave feedback, but don’t overdo it, mkay?

So if you’ve read this blog for long enough, even though I don’t write a lot, you might know that I have pretty strong opinions on some things in music.

“Rather Be” was my favourite song for quite a while, and it probably had a role in what my tastes in music are now. However Clean Bandit have changed since then, and nowadays they just sound generic. Let’s talk about that!

Once upon a time they released “Mozart’s House”.

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This one I still consider one of their strongest song. The video was quite experimental, as was the song. It peaked in the UK charts at position 17. As I see it, this song has also helped them gain their initial audience. They haven’t done anything like it ever since, and that’s good, because it’s actually a bit simplicistic by its structure.

The same simplicity is a bit more noticable in “Telephone Banking”. Honestly this is not that great of a song, however it features the very memorable chiptune progression which they reused a bit later.

As I see, that video reflects their current life going-ons, which is an interesting concept. The video itself is also quite interesting, however it’s also not their best work.

This seems about the point where they parted with Love Ssega, since I can’t seem any other videos featuring him. But whatever, the next one’s A&E.

This one was probably the catchiest at the time of their videos. This one also seems purposefully minimalistic at times, however some parts are extremely particular, like the bassline (seriously, the bassline! It’s crazy). The videos also keep getting better - this one is heavier on VFX, whereas e.g. Mozart’s House was more practical effects than synthetic ones, and I would say that it works quite well for this one. 1 However overall the video seems like it’s basically just more of a VFX demo than a coherent video.

Next up is “Nightingale”. This one isn’t particularly bad, I like the DnB style and the general EDM-esque vibes. The video is light on VFX, however of course they couldn’t get by without it entirely so there’s a 3D bird at one point. Also another feature that’s common in many of their videos is toying with the timescale, and this one is no exception. It’s quite short and to the point, which I think works out well for it. Overall this would probably get a thumbs up for me. 2

Then came “Dust Clears”. This feels like a more emotional one, and this is the first one where cinematography and nice landscapes play a major role in the video. In part that might be related to the overall more sadder tint to the song itself. But in concert these go together very well and create a particular feel to it. Basically the whole video is a cinematography demo, as I would call it. The song itself already has some hints of what their music will become over time, what with the minimalistic house-esque beats and all. The food shapes are also a nice hint to their logo which I don’t thing I saw in their previous ones, however it can be seen in all the videos after this one.

And here it comes!

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This is, without a doubt, their best song in multiple regards. The video is also quite well made, there’s some VFX but not too much, as well as enough practical editing tricks to make it very well interconnected. Also, for the first time (as far as I can tell, don’t judge) their video tells very particular story which can be quite easily inferred through watching the video and not thinking about it too much.

I could talk about the song a lot as well, however I think the main melody is what made it for most people. The chord progression is also not particularly interesting, but it works out well, making a catchy song that’s not completely devoid of any value from a purely musical standpoint.

Then after a long wait out came “Extraordinary”. Like “Rather Be”, the song itself is fairly good and integrates the band’s unique blend of orchestral music with a house style. This one is not as good, since they’ve sacrificed some of their artistic integrity to make the song catchier, and it worked - they’ve created an epithome of catchiness, it’s basically impossible to get this song out of your head.3 The video itself it show at very beautiful locations and the cinematography just rocks. It’s hard to beat this one.

(Hint: it won’t be beaten!)

Next one up is “Come Over”. This one is not so good in multiple aspects. First of all, it’s a departure of their usual house-esque style and goes more into reggae if it can be called that. The rhymes feel a bit forced (simple/symbol, really?). The video itself is actually still quite great, especially from the cinematography standpoint (if you manage to look past Grace, which they probably didn’t want to happen). I basically don’t want to talk too much about this one since it doesn’t feel like what Clean Bandit used to be at all.

Then followed “Real Love”, with Jess Glynne who was also features in “Rather Be”. This is moving again towards that house feel that they gave up in “Come Over”, which is not bad, but what they actually made was a pretty generic house track. This one sort of lacks personality. It’s a bit too repetitive and uses some pretty uninteresting cliches such as the first beat bass drum skip, which isn’t really out of place, but it just doesn’t feel right. Actually, no, it’s more like the whole song feels like they’re chasing behind “Rather Be” a bit, but this time they’re not really creating a new kind of song, but trying to do what other’s have done previously quite close to the letter. The video is fine I guess, nothing too interesting, but not too bad either.

And this is about the point I became completely disconnected from their happenings and sort of went on my own route, not really hearing anything from them. So I completely missed “Stronger” at the point when it came out, but that doesn’t prevent me analyzing it right now. “Stronger” incorporates the steel drum-sounding instrument from “Rather Be” at the beginning and in general sounds like a fine song overall. Some of the elements, again, seem like borrowed cliches, but it’s not too bad and overall this one is listenable to. The video is an interesting part, since this one was shot in collaboration with Microsoft so they used a camera rack (can be seen at 4:16 in the “episode 3″ preview). It’s actually used quite well, and the video fits the song well.

Next up was “Tears”. This one has a pretty good video so I’ll embed it.

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The song itself is a bit boring, and the chorus sort of reminds me of some Soviet songs, but I guess nothing is new anymore. Apart from that, it’s pretty uptempo and would probably make fine music for workouts or something. However, the video is freaking amazing! The practical VFX involved indirectly destroying multiple instruments with fire, and it seems that it was worth it. The video would probably get a strong thumbs up from me, if I rate it separately from the song.

Then came the one that everyone’s singing right now, “Rockabye”. This one has an emotional message I guess, and it’s presented very well through the song. But the song itself isn’t particularly interesting, but it is catchy enough for it to be extremely successful. But this one, just like “Come Over” is basically reggae wrapped in a slight house facade. The video is relatively good, but it doesn’t stand a chance next to the previous one. That might be part of the message, but even then there are some weird moments related to how they shot the singer - there’s a bit too much looking at the camera and it seems slightly awkward. Apart from that (and Grace Chatto just standing around a cello, not even trying to look like playing it), it’s again very well shot, nicely edited and generally fits the song.

Then just a couple of days ago a new song turned up, called “Symphony” and featuring the rising star Zara Larsson. The song is sort of mediocre, however the video is very powerful. This one has similarities to “Rather Be”, in that there is a pretty well defined story which is told through the video, and actually it’s told pretty clearly and well. As always, cinematography is on point, but it’s a bit jumpy though. It also seems that there is a full-blown symphonic orchestra behind them this time.

In general I would probably say that “Symphony” is an improvement over “Rockabye”, although I’m not sure if it will get as widespread as Rockabye.

So, to summarize. I would say that Clean Bandit started out as being pretty close to my tastes and has strayed away from them. And by stranding away they also have lost some of their uniqueness and traded that in for more recognition, I guess. I’m not quire it’s working though, judging only by the view counters on their videos. Although Rockabye has surpassed Rather Be by a 100 million views, it is still halfway to many of Calvin Harris’s songs (This Is What You Came For currently sits at 1.4 billion, How Deep Is Your Love at 1 billion, as is Summer). I’m not quite sure what this tells us about the music industry, but anyway.

Clean Bandit has changed, and that’s good, even if they’ve changed against my expectations. CGP Grey and Myke Hurley put it very well on this week’s Cortex, although in a different context (at about the 56 minute mark, also paraphrased):

If you generate any kind of audience, you have that audience because people like what you do, but they want more of the same thing, and you as a creator might not want to continue doing the same thing forever, so I think you should try doing different stuff.

So even if Clean Bandit has morphed into what it is now, I think it is better for them. I can still find music I like in other ways (hello Spotify and Discover Weekly, or as I call it, Lesser-known-artists Galore), and I try to share what I find via either this blog or the Telegram channel I have linked somewhere.

Farewell, good luck and thanks for all the fish.

See the ad for Looper at 2:57? If you don’t instantly recognize the name, go watch this YMS review. ↩︎

Also let me point you to this Gorgon City remix. It preserves the original features quite well and gives them a house layout. ↩︎

Actually this might have been true of Rather Be at some point as well, but I’ve gotten over it. ↩︎

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curation-over-creation · 9 years ago

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Thoughts on Calvin Harris's “My Way” M/V

(This is a new thing for this blog. I’ve partially given up on curation for now, and some of my picks can be found in t.me/pmamusic if you’re into that.)

If you haven’t yet, watch it here.

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So I’ve been a fan of Calvin Harris’s music for a long time already, however I only ever started to look at the videos after the one for “This Is What You Came For” came out, which I actually considered quite good. Even though it basically doesn’t have any plot, it plays on its visual effects quite successfully. The execution is also pretty original, and in my opinion fits the song well. Also some visual glitches are used as effects, but they’re done tastefully and don’t disturb the flow of the video. I have a couple of other thoughts I might publish someday if I decide to.

However, we’re talking about My Way here. So here we go.

“My Way” is in some ways quite similar to “This Is What You Came For”, as in it also is trying out a pretty bold and unusual visual style for music videos. A notable difference that there is at least some story it is trying to tell, just like the song itself.

Let’s talk about the visuals. Calvin Harris seems to have taken a liking for visual glitches. They are used sparingly (and, in my opinion, tastefully) in This Is What You Came For, however My Way is essentially the haven of video glitches. It might be a part of the message, but I only experienced more eye strain than anything. The occasional datamosh and pixel-sorting at the beginning was fine, but as the video progresses, so do the glitches, and at the end it is basically unwatchable. That’s not really what makes a good video, although Calvin is free to do as he likes.

The video also carries some plot, and the visuals actually play into that a bit. The plot isn’t really anything new, however the video offers a fresh take on an old problem. The direction in general is pretty good, the timing is fine, and scene transitions are not ever-so-slightly off (looking at you, How Deep Is Your Love). Execution mostly gets a thumbs up from me.

Overall I give it an 7/10. It’s good, but not as good as some of the others.

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