Today marks the anticipated release of Melbourne producer and multi-instrumentalist Lucianblomkamp‘s brand new LP Bad Faith (via Good Manners/ Caroline).
A follow on from 2014’s absolutely breathtaking nine track release Post Nature, Bad Faith, sees the classically-trained Blomkamp embrace the endless possibilities of the electronic medium to make polished yet provocative and conceptually experimental music.
To celebrate the release of the record, Lucian has penned for us a reconstructed version of a track by track, which is a deeply fascinating look inside a stunning effort. Pick up your own copy/ stream the record here.
Bad Faith is a contradiction. It is about everything and nothing. In some ways, it’s lack of meaning becomes is it’s own deeper meaning. Similarly, this reflects in the tracklist and my choice to have half the album instrumental and half the album featuring vocals.
When given the right circumstances, any art’s meaning can be completely subjective and I try to keep it this way. Although with that said, here are some of the thoughts and concepts behind the album as a whole.
Bad Faith is about seeking significance, and how this is impossible. This message is the most apparent on the tracks ‘From Afar’ and ‘Feel’. These two songs embody the spirit of Bad Faith, explaining that there is no end game or validation. Even in art there is never a state of completion. There will always be a taller mountain to climb. You could easily look at this as a positive, explaining that life, art and everything in-between is all about the journey and not the destination.
[include_post id=”468595″]While this is true, based on my state of my mind while writing the album, the perspective is coming from a pessimistic standpoint. However, this pessimistic view doesn’t remain throughout the entire album as the track ‘Comfort’ delves into thoughts on self-worth and confidence.
‘The Overman’ has two separate meanings. While it is first and foremost about an inability to express oneself, it also simultaneously encapsulates my frustration with having to give art meaning. This relates back to one of the album’s key messages as I mentioned earlier.
The lyrics, and more specifically the line “If you can’t get the words out then it’s all for nothing” is ironic. This is playing on the notion that the stories I try to express through my lyrics are in some ways interpreted more important than the music itself. This is obviously not entirely about me personally, but rather about how I feel people interpret music in general.
The closing track ‘Eternal’ is an attempt at closure. Constantly living on the brink of god-given meaning and infinite meaninglessness can drive a person insane, yet simultaneously tells us so much about life.
I try to illustrate this in ‘Eternal’ as though one were trapped on the cusp of life and death for an eternity. Infinitely taking your last breath of life, mourning your own loss of existence, yet this feeling essentially describes human existence in a nutshell.
We are merely consciousness, and the act of living (represented as meaning) is no more important than death (represented as meaninglessness). This state of simultaneously being alive and dead is what we are as humans are in the first place. We only have an attachment to existence in the form of memories.
On the surface, the most apparent stylistic difference between my previous album ‘Post-Nature’ and ‘Bad Faith’ is that I’m now singing on more tracks. Over half the album features lyrical content and insight into how I was feeling when I was writing these songs.
In a sense, the fact that there are lyrics at all is a regret that’s played on my mind over the past few months. In another sense, it is essentially what Bad Faith is all about. As meaning is represented by life and meaninglessness is represented by death, this idea that they are both one and the same plays into the decision making behind having half the album instrumental.
The music is music, that’s all there is. This is regardless of lyrical content or intentional meaning in the same way that existence is existence. There are many tracks from the album I have left out from this article, and this is also my reasoning. While there is “So much left unsaid”, I think it’s better to keep things this way and allow the listener to interpret for themselves.
Upcoming Tour Dates
With Lower Spectrum
April 21st: Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane
April 22nd: Plan B Small Club, Sydney
April 23rd: Howler, Melbourne
April 29th: Rocket Bar, Adelaide
April 30th: Jimmy’s Den, Perth
