Winters are tough in Berlin, especially when you’re Australian. If the five members of Parcels made the big leap three years ago from Byron Bay’s beaches to the German capital’s chilly temperatures, it’s because Europe’s most creative city gave them prospects equal to their ambitions. At only 20 years old, Louie Swain (keyboards), PatrickHetherington (keyboards), Noah Hill (bass), Anatole Serret (percussions) et Jules Crommelin (guitar) think big, yet they haven’t forgotten where they came from. Formed at school back in 2014, if you want to find where Parcels’ DNA lies, it’s without doubt in the bay of their hometown. It’s there on the sand facing the sunset, where surfers ride the waves, where a certain hedonistic musical ideal took shape. It’s one that weaves between the Beach Boys and Daft Punk, crashing into yacht rock heroes such as figurehead Steely Dan, amongst others. It’s one way for five fashionable guys to rebuild the history of soft rock and
funk, keeping the basic principles in mind, all while hurtling towards a pop future that they’ve created with the same fervour as fellow compatriots Tale Impala and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.
If they are worthy successors in the family tree of Australian groups - which goes from Easybeats to INXS, via the Bee Gees and Flash and the Pan, it’s in their Berlin exile where the alchemy which makes Parcels so unique took shape. They have a maniacal taste for perfection when it comes to their compositions and arrangements, combined with an intense, almost carnal, pleasure, for playing on stage. Those who’ve seen them live know - especially Daft Punk. After getting a first glimpse of Parcels at a Parisian club in 2016, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo invited the young band to their studio. Together they made Overnight, which was also produced by the robots. Their EP (Hideout) and the track Overnight shot Parcels into orbit on stages across the planet (New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Sydney…) and inside everyone’s heads. The group are getting ready to take the plunge, launching their debut album at the end of the year. The first track Tieduprightnow is like an epiphany, rushing at you like a heady hit: think magnetic keyboards, haunting guitars, sweet harmonies and the ocean calm… the Australian sun is rising over Berlin.
