Broadcasting soon to all stylus-based phonographic translation units of the 21 century: Conveyor re-imagined George Lucas’s THX 1138 in their newest LP Prime on Gold Robot Records.
Backlog: A dystopian future finds Earthlings being subjected to a medicated, sexless existence. The film is sterile and ivory. Every minute deviation of the populace is monitored and controlled by android police. There is no violence — deviants are subdued through mind control or sever electrocution. There is no love — roommates are assigned based on algorithms and share “nothing but space.” There is no protest. The pills stifle protest. You swallow the pills and your voice together. THX 1138 erases any trace of instinctual behavior or nature, bathing the viewer in the irritating fluorescent glow of a future where everything is held constant and is therefore economically efficient.
Prime is executed in thirteen separate instances, performed live by the band during screenings of the film. The LP is an extreme left turn for Brooklyn four piece Conveyor, whose previous releases are fuzzed out, pastoral rock and roll. “Theme I” begins tightly coiled, translating the neurotic, noisy environment of Lucas’s future Earth into seismographic waves. Very soon, the electronic thrashing gives way to a horn section, and in an instant Conveyor has boldly recolored THX 1138 like a schizophrenic methodically and ferociously graffitiing anatomical illustrations with a box of crayons. Prime can be enjoyed separate from its point of reference – each theme explores one or more motifs – but the thirteen works are excellent subversions of Lucas’s film. Where the director intended to erase any trace of psychological imagery, Conveyor play Freud in coaxing out THX 1138’s (that’s the name of Robert Duvall’s character.) frantic mind as it faces freedom from drug-induced conformity.
In an effort to contribute to the greater efficiency and long term happiness of the people, the Conveyor unit will also be touring this summer:
05.16.14 – Boston, MA - TT The Bear’s Place
06.29.14 - Indianapolis, IN - Joyful Noise Recording Studio
06.30.14 - Louisville, KY - Haymarket Whiskey Bar
07.03.14 - Austin, TX - Alamo Drafthouse (Performance w/THX 1138)
07.19.14 - New York, NY - Joe’s Pub (Album Release Show)
• Conveyor: http://www.conveyormusic.com
• Gold Robot Records: http://gold-robot.com/records
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