On his most recent EP We Got Soul, Parisian producer Boston Bun gets a real kick out of teasing time. Stretching, poking and prodding with a series of gradual grunts and staggered synths, he creates a slow-building flurry that's more than worthy of its release on the sovereign Ed Banger label. In his latest video for “Time Bomb” (featuring Piu Piu), he takes this tendancy even further. “It’s when you realise the actual meaning of time passing by, and it’s power over us, but in a very positive way” he explains. “It’s also what drives us to do stuff and make every second matter.” The video itself was made with fellow french artist Lisa Paclet – a filmmaker known for her vivacious visual collaborations with Dior, Saint Laurent and Chanel. “I really wanted a feminine input to it,” he continues. ”She balances very sharp, beautiful images and more weird, conceptual stuff.” In this Dazed exclusive, we get a first glimpse of Paclet's interpretation, and discover exactly what it was that lured her from the lavish world of high fashion to the underground clubs of Ed Banger's Paris.
Can you explain the basic premise of the video?
Lisa Paclet: I have constructed the music video around the relationship between time and magnetism.The idea was to stage two characters who’s actions aren't synchronised, and who throughout the clip try to align on a common speed. Once that's reached, the result of their actions is not always the one one would expect. The attraction and repulsion that the characters feel towards each other is translated visually by opposing variations in speed, and by analogical deformations produced by magnets. The result creates a deformed relationship between time and image, which mirrors the deformation of the relationship between the two characters.
Why did you choose this idea in relation to the song?
Lisa Paclet: The song is very rhythmic and specifically references time in its lyrics, so I was searching for an idea that could translate synchronicity and time visually. Also, I wanted to find an element of surprise – “the time bomb” in the song – and thought that it would be interesting to stage very simple, mundane actions, which once synchronised sometimes end in an unexpected way.
The two teenagers in the clip are ruled by a clock which defines their level of asynchrony, just like us in our everyday life; ruled by time, trying to align our internal speed, our perceptions, to those of others around us. One inspiration for this clip is a wonderful animated short film by Jan Svankmajer “Dimensions of Dialogue”, in which two clay figures try and fail to communicate through the use of everyday objects.
Can you explain the techniques you used to make the video?
Lisa Paclet: I very much like experimentation, and have often worked around the idea of creating images and destroying them (before this I made films scratching on 16mm film, data-moshing and sewing images on paper). I find the relationship between chaos and control very alluring. Working hard to construct a film and then intervening in a way that is somewhat uncontrollable, letting the process take over and allowing for unexpected accidents which can often enrich the final result. On this film, first we worked the edit, finessed the time based effects and then filmed the whole thing from the screen of an old tv. The images were deformed with a set of strong magnets that I was moving behind and around the screen, trying to be on beat. I felt like a mad scientist doing this, and almost electrocuted myself! It was so fun!
Most of your work is fashion-based. How different is the creative process for music videos?
Lisa Paclet: Well the expectations are different, while both industries – fashion and music – strive for innovation and have a high aesthetic standards; music videos are more intimate in a way, and often more daring. Music videos tend to be more free because they relate to an artist, a specific song at a specific time, and not necessarily to a brand, which usually comes loaded with it’s own visual history and codes. When working on a music video you ultimately are working for another artist, so the grounds are often fertile for all sorts of bizarre ideas! Both the filmmaker and the musician tend to treat the final product as their little baby, a thing that has to go out in the world and stand on it’s own, so the process is generally very nurturing and thoughtful.
What attracted you to Boston Bun and the Ed Banger label?
Lisa Paclet: I’ve always wanted to make a music video for Ed Banger, they are one of the most fun and inventive labels in France! So when I was approached with the idea of making a video for Boston Bun I was very excited. Thibaud (Boston Bun) was great – he has a background in film and was very receptive to all sorts of ideas, while still keeping a clear vision of his overall aesthetic.
Boston Bun's We Got Soul EP is available to download now here