Normally, describing a musical act as a "fashion band" is a backhanded compliment that seems to insinuate the music possesses more style than substance. But for Portland-based Chromatics, fashion and the dreamy, acid-infused sound seem to just go together, which is why we've recently heard Ruth Radelet's smoky voice accompanying models on the catwalk. The driving beats, the romanticism, and the retro-futuristic vibe works perfectly on the runway.
Not only did we hear the band at Phillip Lim in September, but Karl Lagerfeld (who has a reputation for constantly seeking out the newest and coolest when it comes to music) asked the band to soundtrack Chanel's spring/summer '13 presentation.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
The band took the opportunity to bring its frequent visual collaborator, Alberto Rossini, along to document the whole thing for its new video. In "Looking For Love," the Chromatics channel some serious Italo disco sounds, but the scenery is all French. The handheld, 8mm-style film isn't just a showcase of the sequencer-laced song — it is a real, behind-the-scenes look at what goes on at the Grand Palais, from models prepping to initial walkthroughs to attendees passing through metal detectors.
The hyper-saturated film took us around the space and finally gave some real perspective to those turbines (they're HUGE), and also gave us a quick glimpse of the band as it set up for the show. While the actual show does make an appearance, it is only depicted through fast cuts and fractured images — models featured by body parts, feet walking, skirts swooping, hulas...hooping. (Yes, the hula-hoop bag makes an appearance.)
Rumor has it, this is only a five-minute edit of the 17-minute original song, set to debut on the compilation After Dark II, which one can assume will be a twisted and intense adventure through an electronic soundscape. Check out the video below. (Pitchfork)
Photo: Via Echo Park Record's Instagram