An exploration of ecofeminism and our fetishization of "nature," "The Garden" confronts our wrought relationship with the natural world we claim to revere. In fact, it's often our reverence for Mother Earth that wreaks havoc on her in the first place.

COVID-19 expedited the rapid population of the Mountain West, bringing enormous amounts of real estate development, wilderness overuse, and cultural change to remote communities. Newcomers seek a "simpler way of life," when in fact - en masse - they simply transport their urban way of life to a more remote setting. What we see is that many people don't actually want a "simpler life" at all. They wish to continue their way of life in a more rustic, aesthetically pleasing environment.

To quote the "The Garden:" "...erotic delusions of engagement with a world that hates you - and you hate it back."

The Garden

Being Right

Every worthwhile piece of music I’ve written has come from reading; “Partitioning” from Amitav Ghosh’s The Great Derangement, “The Garden” from Carolyn Merchant’s The Death of Nature. And now my new track, “Flat Time,” is based on Mark Fisher’s Ghosts Of My Life.

Fisher investigates why 21st century pop culture is stuck in - and lazily deferential to - 20th century nostalgia. Look no further than Bruno Mars’s kitschy “throwback” funk/R&B, St Vincent’s 70’s photo shoots, or Tame Impala’s quasi-Beatles impression. There’s even a clothing store down the street from me in Echo Park whose sign literally reads, “Look 60s & 70s vintage!”

Climate change and globalization have distorted our sense of the future, and with nowhere to go, cultural time has folded back on itself. Or in Fisher’s words, “flattened.”

“Flat Time” is my tribute to Fisher, who took his own life in 2018. In a digital age of social media, I often find myself associating with “nostalgic” modes of music, fashion, and film, simply because it feels like an harmless way to signal “coolness.” Millennials aren’t accountable for culture that preceded our existence, so we don’t need to justify our spurious association with it. We can simply hide behind its “vintage-ness” when we lack taste of our own. 

“Flat Time” is my attempt to imagine something new. It’s 11 minutes long. Whether it’s actually NEW or not is up for debate. But I tried, and now you can listen to it.

Flat Time

Custom mix premiered 04.22.2022 at Neuehouse DTLA as part of Berggruen Institute's "What Will Life Become?" workshop. I retain no rights to this music, except "Flat Time", "The Garden", & "Catechism" by Arswain

Tracklist:

Flat Time - Arswain
Compro - Skee Mask
Xylin Room - Autechre
Jasmine - Jai Paul
Golden Arrow - Darkside
Familiar Five - Marcus Marr
produk 29 [101] - Aphex Twin
Check The Rhime - A Tribe Called Quest
Spectrum Sequence - Machinedrum
The Garden - Arswain
(Downtown) Dancing - YACHT
A Coin In Nine Hands - Nicolas Jaar
Where's The Catch (feat. Andre 3000) - James Blake
New Romantic - Andy Stott
Grind - Les Sins
Chorus - Holly Herndon
RIQUIQUÍ(LXXVIII78);BRONZE-INSTANCE - Arca
Fetch - Les Sins
Mayor - Mt. Kimbie
Ocean Drive (Schamane) - Brandt Brauer Frick
Do The Astral Plane - Flying Lotus
Airfire Glows - Lone
Mr. Wu - Kamaal Williams
Always Human - Actress
Rubaiyat - Cold Cut
Scabz - Commodo
Catechism - Arswain
Soft Spot - piri & Tommy Villiers
We Pretend - Charli Brix, QZB
Rip The Slit - Arca
Senorita - Arca
The Man Machine - Kraftwerk

Arswain

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