You know you’ve reached a disturbing level of ad ubiquity when you can’t remember the last one you saw, but when asked to point one out on the spot, it might take less than 10 seconds for you to find a company espousing its virtues or the virtues of its products. A subconscious appeal is what these companies are seemingly counting on, which is precisely what disturbed Tristan Douglas a.k.a. Antwood when a popular ASMR channel on YouTube (used as a sleep aid) had announced the seamless incorporation of ads into her videos.
And so explains the primary inspiration for Antwood’s (formerly Margaret Antwood) newest album on Planet Mu, Sponsored Content, set for release September 8. The album follows the BC-based musician’s Virtuous.scr release last year. While that release incorporated sampling from ASMR vids to a degree, the new one uses that disconcerting ad news as the basis for creatively highlighting the “subversive” nature of certain commercials. Ads in unusual form are included in the music, while the music itself is extant in an electronic sub-genre, to-be-named.
Pre-order here, and listen to the track “Wait For Yengi” after Douglas explains a bit more:
Sponsored Content explores this idea of subversive advertisement, at least superficially. It’s obviously about the ubiquity of ads and the commodification of online content. The unlikely placement of ads in the music aims to force the listener to become hyper-aware of being advertised to rather than passively internalizing it. But after the record was finished, it became undeniable that really it wasn’t so much a “concept record” about advertisement; it’s as much about intentionally devaluing the things I’ve invested myself into, and over-complicating my work. When I realized this, I considered taking the ads out, and playing the music straight. But I left the record as it is: honest, flawed, with a little humour, and slightly up its own ass.
Sponsored Content tracklisting:
01. Disable Ad Blocker
02. The New Industry
03. FIJI Water
04. Wait For Yengi
05. I’m Lovin’ I.T.
06. Sublingual
07. ICU
08. The Hyper Individual
09. Commodity Fetish Mode
10. Derealization
11. Don’t Go
12. Human
More about: Antwood, Margaret Antwood
