AMON TOBIN レコード& CD

Review: Shopping-as-hallucination was the idea behind Omega Mart, an immersive exhibition created by Meow Wolf in the capital of capitalistic pomp and OTT living, Las Vegas. A comment and scathing critique of a world that has convinced us of autonomy and individual agency but in feels more militant in its demand for consumption than the 1980s and 1990s ever were. Which is saying A LOT. One of the true auteurs of electronic music, Amon Tobin, was drafted for the score. A Living Room is an excerpt from that vast, blissful yet dystopian soundtrack. Calling on influences such as Jean Michel-Jarre, Vangelis and Brian Eno, this is an homage to synthetics in every possible way - its very beautiful and captivating existence reliant on the kind of inhuman instruments that are part and parcel of a society that no longer understands what is and isn't natural.

Review: Commissioned by Meow Wolf for their Omega Mart immersive art experience in Las Vegas, Amon Tobin delivers the kind of horizon-expanding epic you would hope for from one of the world's most respected living electronic music visionaries. Running at 20 minutes, give or take 40 seconds, this collection of movements worthy of an odyssey may have been designed for a specific context, but they don't have to be trapped there forever. While nothing will compare to diving headfirst into Meow Wolf's critically acclaimed installation piece, a kind of sci-fi takedown of advanced capitalism and blind consumerism in a morally bankrupt world, separating sounds from space still makes a big impact. Noises from the future, soundscapes from the depths of a truly astounding mind, this is nothing if not captivating.