L’univers dystopique de DIVISIONS
Released on September 13th, 2019, DIVISIONS est le troisième album studio de STARSET. Dirigé par Dustin Bates, STARSET est connu pour ses spectacles élaborés et ses albums de rock cinématographiques détaillés. To watch STARSET live is to watch a spectacle of light and sound that leaves you in awe. There is an augmented reality app, aptly titled STARSET, that was first meant to be used during the live concert. This has since been updated to have some functions outside of the concert setting. During the “Immersion: Part One” tour, Bates and his bandmates wore spacesuits. DIVISIONS - set on Earth in 2049, in a dystopian future that involves mind control via an implant.
En plongeant au cœur de cet album, on réalise que l'auditeur est invité à un périple narratif complexe. As you travel through the journey that is DIVISIONS, you will hear more than just the songs. “WHERE THE SKIES END,” for example, is bookended by audio clips from a video called “A New Horizon” that played at the 1939 Worlds Fair in New York. The name of the exhibit was “Futurama,” and was a vision of the future - a future that came true in many ways. Cette dimension visionnaire sert de toile de fond à l'exploration de la condition humaine sous le joug technologique.
Anatomie du son et de l'oppression technologique
L'album s'ouvre sur une mise en scène atmosphérique qui définit immédiatement le ton du récit. The first track is only Bates speaking with synth playing, building until the end of the song. This place is a desert for the mind, Devoid of emotion and barren of thought, No real thought, at least. It’s no surprise, Most minds here have long since atrophied from lack of use. They wait in flatline for the next rushing jolt of synthetic stimulation. The real world can’t compare, even if it were allowed to. Contemplating the real world leads to seeing the world for what it is: a prison.
Cette prison mentale est explorée à travers des textures musicales contrastées. “MANIFEST” is a mix of heavy rock riff and poppy sounding choruses. It leaves you off balance a little, though it is a very enjoyable song, and it just takes a couple of listens to get used to the genre switch. L'ingénierie sonore de STARSET vise à désorienter l'auditeur pour mieux refléter la fracture entre la réalité et la simulation imposée par les implants.
Résonances mythologiques et technologiques
L'album tisse des liens entre la modernité technologique et les archétypes antiques. “Echo” is a symphonic song, soaring behind lyrics that seem to be steeped in Greek Mythology. In Greek Mythology, Echo was cursed by Hera to only be able to repeat the last words that another would speak. She met, and fell in love with Narcissus, who fell in love with himself. That ended rather poorly for both of them. It should be noted that the person referred to here followed the singer silently for most of the song, so the accusation of giving up early toward the end rings quite false.
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Ces thèmes de la répétition, du narcissisme technologique et de la perte de soi se prolongent dans d'autres titres. “WHERE THE SKIES END” seems to be a near defiant look at the future, a musing that is sung over music that alternates between a heavy riff and synth. Dans cette dystopie, même l'intimité devient un acte de rébellion, comme le suggère la structure narrative des morceaux.
L'isolement au cœur de la machine : Analyse de « Diving Bell »
Au sein de ce paysage sonore, « DIVING BELL » se distingue comme une pièce maîtresse de vulnérabilité. "DIVING BELL" is a beautifully juxtaposed song. It is not often that you witness the process of living with depression and trying to push away from those who love you. Le concept de la cloche de plongée (diving bell) agit ici comme une métaphore puissante de l'enfermement intérieur. Le narrateur, bien qu'entouré de technologie, se sent submergé par une pression psychologique qui l'isole du reste du monde, malgré la présence de ceux qui tentent de l'atteindre.
Le travail visuel accompagnant le morceau renforce cette lecture. The moody Caleb Mallery-directed video sets the tone for the somber track off the forthcoming album, showcasing a man sitting still, seemingly governed by the technology that has been distilled within his person, but still feeling the sorrow and regret of a human connection seemingly lost, but might the elements of his life eventually free him from his solitude? Cette question reste ouverte, marquant la force émotionnelle du morceau.
La lutte contre le déterminisme numérique
Le parcours à travers DIVISIONS ne se limite pas à la mélancolie ; il s'agit d'une quête de libération. "DIVING BELL" follows on the heels of the more aggressive preview track "WHERE THE SKIES END" and the previously released single "MANIFEST," all which appear to play into the overall story of rebels attempting to break free and find connection in a dystopian technology ruled future.
Certains titres illustrent cette lutte avec une intensité croissante :
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- "TELEKINETIC" is absolutely connected to “A Brief History Of The Future”. This is a heavy, heavy song, reaching past the rock genre and going into the metal, with a scream punctuating the song. One cannot help but to be reminded of the band RED during this song.
- "STRATOSPHERE" starts as the first true pop rock song on the album. In the first half, the drum kick is the heaviest element of the song, unless you listen closely to the lyrics.
- "TRIALS" is, quite simply, a song of defiance - a story of looking straight into the teeth of the darkest days and triumphing.
- "WAKING UP" shares the same kind of driving drumbeat, though the message changes quite a bit. There is a near EDM feel to this song as well, and seems to be more about the message of someone throwing off the mind control device.
La trajectoire de l'album : Une expérience immersive
Au-delà des paroles, c'est l'ensemble de l'œuvre qui force l'admiration pour sa cohérence conceptuelle. Starset have become masters of buying into a concept and seeing it through. The band recently announced their third studio album DIVISIONS and the roll out of music so far is tying in an overall visual storytelling component with a video for each song.
Cette approche transmedia, où chaque élément - vidéo, musique, application - nourrit l'univers de 2049, permet à l'auditeur d'être acteur du récit. "PERFECT MACHINE" is far more synth heavy, the music slowing down a bit, and seems to be a tragic song in some ways. As the outro plays, you can hear what sounds like a subway, or perhaps a bus station, and a disembodied voice in the background repeating propaganda. Ces détails sonores, intégrés avec minutie, transforment l'album en une expérience sensorielle où la technologie (les synthés, les sons de fond, l'application AR) et l'organique (la voix de Bates, les thèmes de dépression et de lien humain) entrent en collision.
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