Sputniko is absolutely tremendous: a performance artist/DJ with wit, originality, and commitment to a floating future from Japan, via London (thanks to a friend [of a friend of a friend] for the tip).
Both visual and musical, Sputniko rebels against biology (and does battle in video-game style with a giant plastic baby) in her techno-craft song of the provocateur, “Child-Producing Machine.” Bracing! Do you know anyone who DJs in London, then goes off to run “cyborg workshops” in India, and then consults academics on crow communication techniques? We should all be so protean.
the topic of “Child-Producing Machine.” is quite interesting, but the style of presentation and concept visualisation is not so much excellent..
This artist occasionally indulges in very simple graphics (even using cardboard), which I interpret as parody. One such instance comes at 2:09, where I think we are supposed to be brought back to a kind of child-state, Atari 1980s ethos — and it’s supposed to be silly, after all, maybe mirroring the ultimate mockery of the artist toward her own work (since she can’t mock her own uterus, presumably).
The song itself is a fairly conventional form, so no points for formal innovation! But, it has its moments of perfection, though — the chorus is a blaze of counterpoint that, if anything, is failed only by the inability of the graphics (the appearance of “the machine”) to match the incessant and inevitable bass line. As a cellist, bass lines that move quickly with upper pedal tones are like grapes for wine makers — irresistible even if we should know better. But listening to it again, prompted by your criticism, I think the bass should be LOUDER. Of course, the big question is one of duration — would it be possible to listen to the song 5 or 6 times, or 50 or 60 times, and still get an emotional or artistic shock from it? If not, then it’s just entertainment, not art.
Thanks for the comment!