A.M: Performance Video Analysis

Clean Bandit is a British electronic group founded in Cambridge, England in 2009. The group consists of Jack Patterson, Luke Patterson, Grace Chatto, and Milan Neil Amin-Smith. Clean Bandit's music mixes electronic music with classical and deep-house elements. A lot of there music intertwines classical compositions such as those from Beethoven and Dvorak. Their use of classical instruments in the music video acts as an iconic sign to identify them as unique.

In a lot of their music videos they use beautiful natural landscape locations, this particular video was shot in Cuba. They include performance aspects by the band playing their instruments in plain simple clothing without drastic hair and make-up. This makes them very relatable and organic looking, showcasing their raw and natural talent. Clean Bandit uses natural beauty in most of their videos. They always choose to film outdoors and utilise what is around them rather than being in a studio.  If we apply  Dyer’s structure of the Paradox's we can tell that the band appears as ordinary and extraordinary. This is shown by the use of natural locations and the natural appearance of the band contrasted with their extraordinary talent.

Lack of editing and special effects makes the video more simplistic however they have achieved a professional video by making the composition of their shots very sleek and utilising the scenic backgrounds. This is a sign which challenges the social myth that artists are inaccessible and extraordinary.

It is a generic and characteristic feature of performance to have a close up of the artist's instruments as they play. One of clean bandits motifs is their classical instruments. The slo-motion shot emphasises this motif and is an iconic sign that amplifies the artist's originality and uniqueness. This challenges the social stereotype that artists are primarily promoted in their videos through 'soft porn' and fetishism.



The relationship between the music and visuals are also amplified. This is obvious in the fact that the cuts in the video are in time with the music. Also the performance aspect of the video syncs up the with the music. For example they have used non-verbal language in video to highlight the beat of the music. This is done through dancers in the video. The dancing acts as a signifier for how the artist is portrayed as multi-talented.

The characters in the video aren't wearing make up, or designer clothes for costume. This  acts as a signifier that challenges the social myth that an artist's extraordinary. A lot of artists and musicians are shown with expensive designer clothes and their videos include aspects of their luxurious lifestyle. However Clean Bandit haven't done this and instead are encouraging simple clothing  hair and make-up. Also they are shown having fun  sitting on the back of a car, this is encouraging a more simplistic lifestyle.

The fourth wall is broken within the concept of the notion of looking as certain band members look directly into the camera and therefore are directly communicating with the audience.  This allows a connection to be made between the artist and the audience.This conforms to Dyers paradox that an artist is simultaneously present and absent from the viewer.


 Another iconic sign is the use of simple shapes which are present at the start of the video. This acts as a signifier in recognising the band.

They include all of these shapes in their videos and is their meta-narrative. This is also included on their print work:

Signifiers such as the costume as a swim suit which is tight and revealing connote promiscuity. This reinforces the social stereotype that artists are promoted in their videos through 'soft porn' and fetishism.

In the music video you see the singer and a band member sitting on the back of the chairs in an open car. They are dancing and singing while being driven round town.  This conforms to the stereotype that youths are reckless and rebellious as they aren't being cautious and are putting themselves at risk and showing their party lifestyle. This reinforces the dominant ideology that youths have anti-authoritarian motifs.

The bands videos are made independently and often have references to culture in them (e.g. the ice skating man in the video to "Dust Clears" is a reference to the painting by Henry Raeburn of The Skating Minister)