Influences
Jazzablanca 2025: Parcels, the perfectly parcel-ed groove!
Last night, Australia’s Parcels transformed the Casa Anfa stage into a timeless Byron Bay beach, their native stronghold. Between feverish funk, magnetic disco, and soaring rock, the quintet delivered a performance of rare generosity—raw, almost carnal—where you could swear you felt hot sand crunching underfoot, sea salt tingling on your tongue, and an ocean breeze grazing the back of your neck. We met with Jules Crommelin (guitar) and Patrick Hetherington (keyboards, guitar) a few hours before a show that made our hearts vibrate and capsize.
It’s 9:30 p.m. Jules Crommelin, with a mischievous smile, savors a calm moment, while Patrick Hetherington, eyes sparkling, chats animatedly. The pair, pillars of Parcels, talk about their chemistry like an old friendship that never runs out of steam. “We met in high school, in Byron Bay,” Jules confides, his voice tinged with nostalgia. “We grew up together, we built ourselves together. There’s a natural chemistry between the five of us, something that just flows. But we work hard to keep communication open, always talking, always moving forward.” A crew of surfers who swapped their boards for guitars, keyboards, and drums, but who haven’t lost any of their sun-soaked cool.
On stage, this osmosis is palpable. From the very first notes of Tieduprightnow, the crowd is swept away. The five Australians—Louie Swain on keyboards, Noah Hill on bass, Anatole “Toto” Serret on drums, and our two interviewees—unleash an irresistible groove, like a wave that carries you away without warning. The vocal harmonies, reminiscent of the Beach Boys, soar above funky riffs and disco beats, while the cosmopolitan, electrified crowd sways under the strobe lights. “We play dance music, but we sing in harmony, with that ‘bedrock’ of funk, disco, and rock,” Jules explains. “That’s Parcels: a band that moves bodies and stirs souls.”
Their journey is one of a meteoric rise, fueled by a decisive encounter with Daft Punk. Their single Overnight (2017), co-written and produced by the helmeted duo, was their golden ticket. “The first time we ever recorded all together, live, in the same room, was with them,” Patrick recalls, eyes shining. “It marked us for life. We still often record that way, all in the same room, to capture that raw energy.” An authenticity lesson that runs through their latest album, Day/Night (2021), an ambitious double record of 19 tracks where the band explores contrasts—light and shadow, introspection and exuberance. “We wanted to make something huge, something strange, play with opposites,” Jules adds. “Go all in in one direction, then in the other. That’s what inspires us.”
