For those with a taste for the truly avant-garde, a thrilling confluence of cinematic dreamscape awaits. Occult Hardware, a project that transcends mere musical categorization, extends an invitation into a realm of existential angst and dystopian nightmares. Their latest offering is a multi-faceted exploration of societal collapse, introspective inquiry, and the unsettling whispers of a future teetering on the brink. This genre-bending masterpiece serves as the aural counterpart to Obsolete, the visionary art film by October! Collective. Intrigued by the intricate dance between music and film that birthed such a cohesive experience, we recently had the privilege of engaging with Occult Hardware in a conversation that explored the wellsprings of their inspiration, the unconventional creative process that fuels their art, and the way they weave together disparate elements to forge a singular, unforgettable artistic pieace.

photo by Thomas Hensher

Hello, Occult Hardware! How did your collaboration with the creators of the film “Obsolete” come about, and what was your initial reaction to their proposal to write the soundtrack?

Our inclusion was pretty organic, as Smith was one of the artists working on the project and heavily invested in the concept, it made sense to draft in the people we knew who shared the same interests. I don’t think there are many artists conversant with technology at the moment who don’t have an opinion on AI and a rift of dynamic change on the horizon. 

Which aspects of your work do you find most effective in conveying the atmosphere and mood of the film?

Synthesisers are to us the voice of the machine, so it seemed logical to pivot our production upon their use. We feel that this inorganic sound is appropriate for the drama of the story we are telling. Science Fiction is often the precursor to science fact and exploring the ethical implications of new technology is imperative. Humans have solved many pressing challenges through free thought and debate on serious issues. The entire composition, inclusive of the movie itself, is a conversation between humanity and the machine, we allowed for machine processes to give shape and structure to our art, so as much as it can be collaborative it is. The irony is that the machine is at this point a product of compiled human knowledge and expertise and is thus still humanity’s agent, but for how long? 

Your music for “Obsolete” has distinctly pronounced shades of conceptual rock. What aspects of this influence did you decide to incorporate into the soundtrack to amplify its emotional power?

We have always loved ambitious concepts in art. Simple bold statements, such as those made by Marcel Duchamp, can impact with great power, sometimes a story should be allowed to percolate and breathe. The breadth of the piece also reflected that this work was part of a physical performance in a real world location and that is essential to its DNA. Conceptual rock can get a bad rap for being self indulgent, but then what art isn’t to some extent, the act of creating a narrative around anything is going to include a subjective aspect, the correct balance is key. You have to be indulgent in the right places, namely the type of equipment you use, the ambition of your vision and the commitment to the theme. 

Can you share some particular moments or scenes from the film that were especially significant to you when creating the music?

We were particularly excited by the Fairlight CMI emulator, which we used at the midpoint of the film. As a hardware sampling device from the 80s it has a fascinating history. Artists such as Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush and Herbie Hancock used it for their work, in a time period when electronic music was genuinely a new frontier. Smith particularly has always felt that sampling and audio collage are the hallmarks of her work, making it a thrill to explore the Fairlight CMI, as it was the most elaborate and accomplished system of its kind, beyond the reach of home recording until its recreation as a software instrument. 

Another key instrument was the Yamaha CS80 which introduces the main motif in the first section of Obsolete. This synthesiser was famously used by Vangelis for the Blade Runner soundtrack, a film which remains a huge influence on our visions of the future. The Synclavier rounds out this list of previously unobtainable machines that can now be accessed via modern software emulations, and which forged the sound of electronic music in the 70s and 80s.

What challenges did you face when creating music for a film that addresses such profound and topical themes as human biology and technological progress?

It all feels quite dystopian to a lot of people, by even venturing into this territory we can feel as if we are exposing artists to a brutal new future. We don’t have this outlook but we are looking to explore those outcomes, as well as the positive potential technology can bring to the human experience. The fact that we can write this interview remotely and not have to send a delicately drawn letter on a carrier pigeon is one of the conveniences of modern life as everyday life becomes more comfortable. There is a tension between our urge for comfort and simplicity and the need for tradition and continuity of the human experience. We want to honour that tension and therefore we experience it ourselves, by calling the piece Obsolete we are taking aim at our own existence within an ecosystem of creativity. It is an uncanny feeling and that’s part of how we reconcile with it, we restate the importance of the human element in relation to the inorganic intellect of an emerging digital consciousness. As artists this is our duty in a line of defence that would then need to be thoroughly thought out by those with the ethical dynamism and depth of data to guide our future motion. 

How did you approach balancing the cautionary tone of the film with the aesthetics of your music to create a soundtrack that is both poignant and enjoyable for the listener?

We relied on our human emotion to resonate the implications of what is at stake through the music. Make no mistake, this is a transformative moment for our social order, we are staring into the vista of what Jaron Lanier, computer scientist, composer, visual artist, and pioneer in the field of virtual reality deemed “The Dawn of the New Everything”. There is the excitement of potential tempered by vast possibilities for exploitation and the destruction of an “essential” human identity that we have thought of as inviolate until now. This is edifying stuff, we are at the reigns of evolution and the responsibility is tremendous. 

Are there any hidden messages or thematic references embedded within the music itself that viewers might not catch on the first listen?

With all works of this kind there are levels of meaning and comprehension. We are looking for the Simpsons sweet spot, where things can get really meta and complex but it’s also a decent jam that should hold your interest without getting too ponderous. It’s like a sensuous lecture, there’s information coming through but it’s dancing seductively, not just dryly attacking our already crisis frazzled synapses. 

Which aspects of your collaboration with the creators of “Obsolete” did you find most surprising?

The physical strength and grace of Movement Director Morgan Bourbor was extremely impressive. The level of control it takes to hold your body in suspension and trust that you can swing from great height. Musicians generally don’t get suspended in mid air that often, so when we see it happen we are awed by such preternatural displays. We’ve made a mental note that we should do more synthesis on a high wire, just to keep up on our agility!

What emotions did you experience when you saw the final result of your work in the context of “Obsolete”?

It was emotional, it felt like a very intense production in every sense and in a short time frame. Just the health and safety aspects of the live performance gifted a few gigabytes of mental processing. We felt especially happy with version 0.2 as it allowed us to calibrate the visual in a much more unique and stylish way. Like all creative completions it feels like a birth of some kind and as with all children it will forge its own path to relevance or obscurity. Ruminating on the future can distract you from the present, so it was good to snap out of that zone and into our still quite organic and human lives. 

And finally, what are your plans for the future? 

We are specialising in musical curveballs. Occult Hardware is an adventure for us that we want to share with an audience, we don’t want anybody to think they have sussed us out, we want people to enjoy the flavours we serve as unique sittings, we are always ready for new technology, collaborations and sounds. We owe a lot to the community of artists in LDN who form our scene and who make us what we are. 

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