Retro, new wave-inspired synth sounds and a breezy, mid-tempo beat are at the forefront of "Altas Horas," the recently-released single from Venezuelan sibling duo Manuel and Félix Lara, aka the Lara Project.
In this episode of Press Play at Home, the duo share an evocative — and slightly eerie — live performance that adds a mesmerizing visual component to "Altas Horas.”
Therein, singer Félix stands alone on a circular wooden stage to perform the song, dancing around in the spotlight as he sings. Behind him is a background enshrouded in shadows, with only a couple of ladders visible behind him.
That simple backdrop allows viewers to focus in on the sounds and pulsing rhythms of "Altas Horas," a song that emphasizes the transportive power of a captivating beat and conjures up retro dance club vibes. The two artists say that while they were writing the song, they were subconsciously influenced by Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams' "Lose Yourself to Dance," and that influence comes through in the floating, full-body experience of listening to the song.
Lara Project's music often has a strong conceptual or visual emphasis, a result of both members' backgrounds as producers for other artists.
Félix, who typically spearheads the music's creative and visual elements, has worked as a producer for artists like Bad Bunny and Álvaro Díaz. Meanwhile, Manuel — a songwriter, producer and engineer — has also worked with Díaz, as well as Julieta Venegas.
The brothers' musical influences date back to childhood: Their father was a saxophonist and their mother was a ballet dancer. Those diverse artistic elements play out in their own music-making, which seeks to remove genre boundaries and use elements and styles from different formats and eras in order to create their own unique sound.
Press play on the video above to lose yourself in the full performance of Lara Project's "Altas Horas," and keep checking GRAMMY.com for more episodes of Press Play at Home.