Grand Illusion takes its name from the garish billboard at this moment in the 1982 film Koyaanisqatsi:
The film is a terrifying depiction of humanity and our merciless colonisation of the natural world. The phrase ‘Grand Illusion’ perfectly sums up the way we are allowing shiny consumer culture and the myth of infinite growth to take us blindly towards ecological destruction.
Yet Koyaanisqatsi also shows humans at their endearing, if we only take a moment to look beyond the surface and recognise the fragile spirits caught up in the consumerist machine. This EP searches too for those glimpses of light in amongst the dystopia of 2020.
Koyaanisqatsi’s musical legacy is well-documented: over the course of making this EP I’ve taken inspiration both the original score by Phillip Glass, and the less well known, but in my opinion equally brilliant, reworking toured by GoGo Penguin in recent years, and condensed on their EP Ocean In A Drop. Both very worthwhile additions to your November playlist.
Grand Illusion will be released on Spotify, Bandcamp and all the various other streaming platforms on Friday 4th December this year.
Blue Loop 