/Journal
03. Parlous State
Band Shoot
Loophole
Back in September 2020, during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Berlin, I met with Flossie Marriott and Nico Bonadio outside a cafe in Kreuzberg one afternoon to look through their moodboard.
They had formed a band:
Parlous State
The Berlin-based duo infuse elements of Dream Pop, 80s Dance and Avant-garde music into their songs to create a sound vaguely reminiscent of each genre and yet entirely their own. Unsurprisingly, they had a clear vision for how their promotional shots would look.
“Imagine the aftermath of a house party gone wrong”, Nico commented.
And so that’s where we started.
Looking through the moodboard the pair had worked on, it was evident that Flossie and Nico had a distinct scene in mind. We would need to find a weathered and yet elegant space - somewhere that looked forgotten but previously loved. It should be dark and dusty, and decorated with the remnants of a ball or party - discarded paper plates, half-eaten cake, empty bottles, and party streamers trodden into the carpet.
The kind of room that Miss Havisham would sit and wait in (if she had ever had her party).
This project sticks out for me because it involved so much more than just photography work from my side. It required a good deal of set design, of course, which equated to sourcing props and costumes, as well as scouting for locations - elements I rarely get involved in but secretly enjoy.
It’s one of the best feelings to not only match the moodboard of a client but to go above and beyond it. I think I achieved that with my shoot for Parlous State.
