Parov Stelar is known for his unmistakable sound. Since the early 2000s, he has been blending jazz and swing with breakbeats, house, and electronic music. Songs like ‘All Night’ and ‘Booty Swing’ became worldwide hits, and he has thrilled audiences at festivals such as Coachella, Glastonbury, Sziget and Lollapalooza Berlin as well as headlining London’s Somerset House earlier this summer. Ten Amadeus Awards document his success, as do collaborations with global stars like Lana Del Rey, Lady Gaga and Bryan Ferry.
But Parov Stelar’s art goes deeper, something which he proves with his ambitious new album ‘Artifact’. Set to be released on November 14th, he previews the album with the new single ‘Rebel Love’.Listen HERE.
Throughout ‘Artifact’, the electronic foundation that has shaped his work from the very beginning is still part of the framework. But more than ever, it is supplemented, broken up, and questioned. The tracks range between sweeping, timeless pop and electronic concepts, late-romantic grandeur and cinematic power. Having previously integrated classical sounds into his work before, this album makes those elements more central than ever before. For its creator, ‘Artifact’ hits the sweet spot between his self-confessioned control freak tendencies and the thrill of experimentation.
The album’s concept explores the artifacts – the little traces – that everyone leaves along their life journey: memories, fragments, scraps of thought that have their own reality and sense of time. The inspiration comes in part from the fading half-memories of childhood, but also his interest in parallel worlds, different dimensions, past lives and afterlives.
The lead single ‘Rebel Love’ demonstrates Parov Stelar’s disregard for genre conventions. It fuses evocative and atmospheric strings and the dynamic energy of electronica to create a sophisticated, genre-colliding track that’s fuelled as much from its dynamics as it is from its instantly memorable melody.
‘Rebel Love’ is accompanied by a cinematic visual set in the late 19th century, its mood heightened by its stark monochrome photography. An explorer leaves Austria for unchartered lands, but his mission appears to be an ill-fated one… but he may yet be tailed by potential salvation.
‘Artifact’ is available to pre-order / pre-save HERE.
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