It’s interesting how quickly the world turns against technology, it’s somehow comforting that deep down, beneath all the sparkly tech with improved operating systems and “enhanced user interfaces” there is still that niggling feeling that maybe we shouldn’t trust things so blindly.
It’s been a subject explored in literature for decades, the idea that technology has its own agenda and, more often than not, it’s to bring about the downfall of humankind.
So it’s a little ironic that the musical genre most obsessed with this subject is perhaps the genre that relies on technology the most; electronica.
Belgian singer and composer Manu Louis has put together an album of such density that it bridges the gap between thought-provoking and accessible and it’s not until you’ve heard the songs a couple of times do you realise the inspiration behind it is something more sinister and contemporary. The media is chock full of warnings of ever-growing AI, the ‘dark web’, staying safe online and the increasing dependency society has on social media where nothing is real and great pains are taken to appear happier, richer and an inch or two thinner.
‘Data Farm’ tackles this obsession with appearing to be something that you aren’t, it’s a lovely duet with female vocalist Heidi Heidelberg whos voice matches Louis’s. There are moments where the digital landscape is so cleverly layered that it can feel like you’ve entered into a Stanley Kubrick or Ridley Scott film set, all played out with lyrics in differing languages and occasional saxophone from fellow Belgian Greg Tirtiaux.
Take a deep breath and let the music immerse you into the world Cream Parade presents, it’s an interesting ride and one not without reward…
