Reality Rounds
My album Reality Rounds, recorded live for AutoTune choir and synthesizer, is released through Carrier Records and is available on Bandcamp, Amazon, etc. and all streaming services (Spotify, Apple Music).
Listed in Steve Smith’s Top 10 contemporary music albums of 2020
“Say hello to my first obsession of 2020: "King of Thumbs," a selection from Reality Rounds, a new album by the composer and vocalist Alex Dowling. I find this realization of a cybernetic vocal consort – created by four singers individually equipped with AutoTune and other effects, and synthesizer accompaniment – completely mesmerizing.” (Steve Smith - Night after Night)
“The piece is heavily emotive for being so nontraditional, evoking feelings of Radiohead-levels of alienation without the density that accompanies their pieces. The beginning of the piece aspires to heights, while the conclusion sends the vocalists tumbling down; the spare, unusual lyrics accompany these patterns in atypical but clear ways. Very interesting work. Highly recommended.” (Independent Clauses)
“The choir is simply amazing, ethereal to the point of transcendence. The result is uncanny, an effortless virtuosic performance that blends the best of cold digitization with the comfort of heavenly progressions.” (Critical Masses)
Notes:
In his book Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, the historian Yuval Noah Harari describes ‘dataism’ as an emerging ideology, or even a new form of religion, in which information flow is the ‘supreme value’ that is coveted above all else. Traditional religions told you that your every word and action was part of some great cosmic plan, and that God watched you every minute and cared about all your thoughts and feelings. Data religion now says that your every word and action is part of the great data flow, that the algorithms are watching you and that they care about everything you do and feel. What’s the point of doing or experiencing anything if nobody knows about it, and if it doesn’t contribute something to the global exchange of information?
This work, Reality Rounds, is a ritual of Dataism. The singers tap into the great data flow to experience and celebrate its divine wisdom. The performers’ voices are digitally extended beyond their physical boundaries allowing them to connect with the stream and become imbued with its spiritual presence.
Words, music, and production: Alex Dowling
Performers: Emma O’Halloran, Annika Socolofsky, Chris Douthitt, Alex Dowling (singers), Pascal Le Boeuf (synth)
Filmed and edited: Four/Ten Media
Artwork: Angela Guyton
This is the full performance of Reality Rounds. Below it is separated into individual pieces.