Merlin Bronques is an American musician, artist and

photoblog A photoblog (or photolog) is a form of photo sharing and publishing in the format of a blog. It differs from a blog through the predominant use of and focus on photographs rather than text. Photoblogging (the action of posting photos to a photob ...

ger based in New York. He is best known for the website lastnightsparty.com, of which he is the founder and sole photographer.

Early years

Bronques was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, United States, and grew up partly in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

and

Aylmer Aylmer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Edward Aylmer, Welsh MP * Edward Aylmer (cricketer), first-class cricketer and Royal Navy officer * Felix Aylmer, English stage actor * Sir Fenton Aylmer, 13th Baronet, British Arm ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada.

Career

Music

As a musician, he enjoyed popularity during the mid-1990s under the name Merlin. His 1993 self-produced first album ''A Noise Supreme'' was a blend of

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten ...

and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

: "acid-dipped/metal/jazz/grunge fusion" according to ''Billboard''. The album received critical praise and generated a fanbase in Canada, partly due to MuchMusic airplay of the video for the single "Pusher." In 1996, Merlin released the album ''Merlin's Arcade'', "a most enjoyable slice of ear candy" according to ''AllMusic''. The single "The Playboy Interview" also received some airplay on MuchMusic. He also founded the pop-rock band Ma, whose album ''Cool Chicks and Other Babes'' drew comparisons to

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing ...

and released the industrial album ''Viddy Well Little Brother'' in 1997. In 2001 he released his major-label debut, ''Milkbar Stereo''. He later formed the group NAM:LIVE!, which he disbanded after finding success as a nightlife

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

. He claims to have no formal training and was first introduced to photography by his father who is a studio photographer.Gothamist Article

LastNightsParty.com

Bronques's photoblog, LastNightsParty.com, offers a behind-the-scenes look into parties around the world. It was launched in 2004. LastNightsParty.com’s galleries of hipsters, models, and the fashion community has a global audience. LastNightsParty is also an Abrams book released worldwide. Bronques's photographs have been praised for their ability to capture the "energy" of a party. A book of his photographs, ''lastnightsparty: Where Were You Last Night?'' (), was published in 2006. Bronques later launched LastNightsParty.tv as a source of video and blog content.

References

External links

LastNightsParty.com

LastNightsParty.tv

youPIX 2009 clip, Merlin Bronques
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronques, Merlin Artists from Brooklyn Artists from Quebec Canadian photographers Canadian male singers Canadian rock guitarists Canadian male guitarists Canadian rock singers 20th-century Canadian rappers Living people Musicians from Brooklyn Musicians from Gatineau Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian male rappers 20th-century Canadian male musicians