On Michael It’z newest release “Plastika | Music for a Film” we get a lush album full of soundscapes and “music” that does feel as though it was written for a film. I admire anyone who puts together an album like this and I will tell you why this is akin to abstract art. This type of music is about process and not final product. There are many layers in this music and sounds sampled from many different places mixed with sounds of the real world and when combined it creates a bleak and tangible final mix that fits the modern age. I picture as I listen to tracks like “Dance of the Hanged Man” someone riding on a NYC subway enjoying this as they people watch and see stations fly by. This music is not the right fit for anytime of the day, it’s isolation music, the kind of thing you’d throw on when you are looking for something repetitive and non-descript to be your soundtrack while drawing in a sketchpad.
I have worked on projects that use soundscape before and I think some people will listen to something like this and dismiss the massive amount of work that goes into this kind of project. The process of layering is similar to the process a regular band would go through to prepare songs for an album, but I assume that work was done in the studio meticulously layer by layer to build these songs that have background samples that are just as important an element as the rhythms and layers in the foreground. This is not the type of album you put on looking for a single but instead is an album that you listen to as a cohesive unit.
It’s interesting that this is available through Cleopatra Records whose name for me is synonymous with goth records of my youth because this feels gothy but in a way that is not overstated. It’s clear to see why this is considered a film soundtrack, I could easily see something like this being the background score to A24 film like Ghost Story. In a way it reminds me of a film like that where you are just an observer and leaving on a journey and going where it takes you. Here and there bits of songs like “Holographic Fragility” jolt you awake with loud low piano notes as if you’ve stepped into a Kubrick movie. Overall this is not a commercial record, but for the people who enjoy cinematic scores or abstract soundscapes and found audio samples - they are going to really enjoy this and find the value in this art.
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- Sam Lowry