It could appear to be just another fairytale told by benevolent grown-ups, however, it is definitely not for the faint-hearted.
It is actually quite more like a whispered horror-story and not suitable for children or faint-hearted grown-ups at all. The music and the background sounds (field recordings?) alongside the lyrics tell a different tale all together.
A much scarier story: “Farming”, about seclusion, loneliness and alienation. About where your meat’s origin is and how easy it is to loose your life… You want to trust the perfect-male-radio-like-voice, you want to believe the soothing telling, but it is not a friendly story at all. And it is has nothing to do with soothing! It’s a dark tale…
…landing in the field, heavy metal playing from the speakers, daylight, winter, the rush of the main road beyond dead land… the stare of a man looking in to oblivion purple bruised golden and yellow… Tomorrow morning when I woke I would be stranded on the farm, tomorrow, and the day after and the day after that.
It needs, more than several listens. There are so many words… it is (in my mind) text/vocals with music and not the other-way around.
Are we being fuzzy? A tad bit, this is quite out of the ordinary (looking for that), turning up here, yet, very musical in more than one sense. I would love to hear an instrumental of this (and a cat#); unedited just like it is but without the (overshadowing) narrative/vocal. It would be interesting and it may/or may not fit on the cassette. Accompanying the text version in parallel. It is just an idea…
Reflections and in some cases inter-reflections, depending on personal experience. Technology and… progress. What does it mean? The promise of the internet and advanced technology mass-produced available to all (in theory)? Cars, this time EV:s (Electric Vehicles) are going to save us all, this time around, they’re the future? +200? We still need to breath/eat/Gaia and the Principle? We still need farming; even on Mars…
Mother.
Release
Album: Farming
Artist: McClure and Whyte
Genre: Spoken word / soundscape / experimental
Label: Longs Arm Artifacts
Format: Limited edition cassette tape and digital
Release date: April 30th 2024 via Longs Arm Artifacts
Track list (1-19)
In my head I have created a barn / We the cattle / This life / Baldoon HQ / Tractor / The croft / Meat your mother / Fields (abridged) / Farmyard / Sssssshhhht / The community / The children of Jackson Lane / The animals are hungry / Sheep man / Cattle shed / The same ram / Farm animal / Power plant / The sheep’s skull
Ref.: Farming released on Longs Arm Artifact
This is post: 1799.