Flashback Friday – Phoenix
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Here at HIP Video Promo, we’ve been working hard to promote music videos since the year 2000 and have over 4,600 videos under our belt. Due to our experience and expertise in the marketing world, we have promoted some of the best musical acts of our time and inspired a shift in American radio. It’s important to give these artists a platform, and we have done that but it’s their talent that shoots them into instant stardom. Every Friday, we’ll be sharing a “Flashback Friday” video, where we get to reflect on one of our favorite videos from a few years ago.
In 2006, we teamed up with indie / alternative rock favorites Phoenix for their video “Consolation Prizes”, and right from the get-go we were fully aware that this was going to be the start of something big. Phoenix consists of Thomas Mars, Deck d’Arcy, Christian Mazzalai, Aarón Hernández, Joseph Pablo Díaz and Laurent Brancowit. Clearly humble, they commanded the stage with a new energy that desperately needed to get out of its cage. This band acts like creative Twin Flames and refuses to ignore fate. They are heavily influenced by the Strokes and carry a certain quality to them that has more substance than just your typical alternative band. By promoting and allowing these guys a platform we set up the framework for the indie takeover that occurred in the 2010s.
Hailing from Versailles, France, Phoenix certainly have a European flair to them as they crafted and molded their sound to become something entirely unique. Phoenix incorporated American pop elements but are categorized as alternative with a disco elegance. It is due to these various and forceful influences that makes them an effortless standout act. Off their 2006 third studio album, It’s Never Been Like That, “Consolation Prizes” is certainly a gift. The video opens up in Paris as the background evolves and transforms with each transition. Directed by Daniel Askill, the video takes place over three days and nights as they are the star acts of their own festival. The shaky camera and cut shots act as guidance as the lyrics shout, “no one knows where we are headed to.” They lead the viewer into their world with numerous possibilities when they were not even aware of their guidance to direct the casual music listener to stray more towards indie-centric sounds.
Starting back in the 1990s, Phoenix started performing in French bar circuits, doing Hank Williams and Prince covers to drunken audiences. By gaining some ground in the local scene they were able to release their first independent record United. From that success, they issued Alphabetical in 2004, It’s Never Been Like That in 2006, and their mainstream breakthrough, the critically acclaimed Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix in 2009. They even landed a spot on the Billboard Top 100 with their track “1901” and broke through the industry with their unparalleled and instant hit, “Lisztomania.” Fourteen million views on a highly experimental track highlights the presence of otherworldly creative intuition and insight that truly has power. After their commercial success, Phoenix released Bankrupt! in 2013 and Ti Amo in 2017.
Some say they were the rebirth of the Strokes and some denied that claim but no one ever said this band lacked talent and influence. They opened people’s ears to a new sound and guided people to look up other bands that had the same light production and positive message. Breaking out of the influx of metal and punk in the 2000s music due to the stock market crash, the world needed a serious reinvention of their light side. Even early on in their career, they possessed a talent and untapped potential to start a movement they didn’t even know they were the leaders of.
We’ve been big fans of Phoenix since the beginning and shot them to their rightfully deserved stardom, and we are ecstatic to be promoting one of the most unique bands of the 2010s. We can’t wait to see what diverse artist becomes the next breakout star. Do you think your video has what it takes to be the next worldwide smash hit? Get in touch with Andy Gesner and the rest of the HIP Video Promo team by giving us a call at (732)-613-1779 or emailing us at info@HIPVideoPromo.com.
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