Karl Steven: New Single/Video 'Acoma (Phase I)'

KATIE BROWN - 1 DEC 2021

Photo: Paul Taylor

If your computer wanted to subtly woo you over dial-up, “Acoma (Phase I)” by Thames-based composer and producer Karl Steven (Queen Neptune, The Drab Doo-Riffs, Heart Attack Alley, Supergroove) might be the track it would play while reaching out a little bitty hand through its screen and enigmatically asking you to be the 1 to its 0. With trace elements of the likes of Air and Laurie Anderson, the single is understatedly mesmerising with a singular brand of digital charm. Following on from “Tāmaki 5000” and “Freedom Bells”, “Acoma (Phase I)” is the third offering from Steven’s upcoming album All of Human Emotion on Microfiche, which is slated for release early in 2022.

"Acoma (Phase I) really just grew like a time-lapse tree from that very first synth chord" says Steven. "As soon as I had made the sound on the Oberheim OB6 and struck that chord the rest of the song, the lyrics, and even the basic concept for the video just unfolded from it pretty much immediately. I don't know what the song wants from us, but it was cool to be there when it stepped in from another dimension."

Faithfully transcribing the yin of Steven’s intergalactic soundscape into its complementary visual yang, the accompanying video by Mindfulness For Machines (the generative art practise of Marcel Bellvé (Crap Date, Lipsink)) is a combination of 3D, video sythesizers and rotoscoping, and captures the essence of the single perfectly in its digiverse of synthetic enigma.

Watch the video below, and keep an eye out for the release of All of Human Emotion on Microfiche early next year.

Find Karl Steven on Instagram | Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp | YouTube

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