ethereal:drains> new project ‘displaced persons’, is schizophrenic in that it is both an introspective, and outward looking vision of dystrophic cold war paranoia. The sound of intrusive post Iron curtain surveillance systems blinking and scanning set the chilling atmosphere for the more personal inward looking confessionary lyrics of tracks like Lost between stations.
‘The war against Terrorism is comparable today to the fictional war against Eurasia in 1984, and could be seen as an excuse to turn the spotlight of the old defunked cold war surveillance machine back on us. Because of the threat of Terrorism we are now all being monitored fairly continuously, our emails are being scanned at the ‘officially’ non existent Menwith data collection centre, our credit card purchases can be traced our phone’s tapped, when in built up areas we are nearly always caught on CCTV. At any time we could be being watched by close orbit ‘keyhole’ surveillance satellites in space, powerful enough to read the name on a passport, and soon we will all be carrying ID cards. I’m not suggesting paranoia, as in the Matrix you could go your whole life without caring or even being particularly aware of any of this,’ (RB)
Displaced persons: had begun as a kind of audiovisual project, comprising of sequences of looped video images, which accompany the music. However video versions of the project may prove problematic to market, so a solely audio version is more likely with video versions sold separately.
‘Hibernation:’ first completed track and inspiration for the overall feel of the project, is a stark, minimalist and introverted, examination of the states of depression and the lethargy that it causes, and compares it with a state of hibernation or suspended animation. ‘it’s a kind of life in transit, trying to work things out, sitting it out until you can function as a human being again’ (RB)
The track is filled with deeply submersed, asphyxiated sounds, reminiscent of spaceship computer consoles, in fact the whole piece uses 2001 esque Sci-Fi illusions of deep space hibernatory astronauts, and interlinks them with such despairing questions as ‘is there nothing we can win? is there nothing we can’t lose?’
Another completed track ‘Lost between stations’ uses the illusion of radio transmission failure, even in the title, to tackle the concept of communication brake down of a society and the panic and persecution that can spread through a nation, turning rational people into reactionaries overnight. The track uses video clips not of the obligatory marching feet and flag waving cronies, but also of the needed resistance fighters of a past or possible future war, while the chorus lines of ‘we’ve lost our way’ swirls perpetuating throughout the bunker dwelling, siege mentality of the subject. Almost inaudible except at the beginning and end of the track is the sound of a radio desperately trying to be tuned in..' I think our society is desperately trying to tune it's self back in, at the moment we're stuck mid-station, drowning in the white noise of misinformation overload. One day maybe we'll tune back in, and things will change!'(RB)
The Album will hopefully be available for download on this website in the near future.
Written by Sea Monkey