published by Ben Hogwood – text is reproduced from the press release

Seth Troxler and Phil Moffa’s multi-hyphenate, multi-dimensional Lost Souls Of Saturn have always been an extended and evolving tribe of co-conspirators, and for their new digital remix album Reality Hacked (which is preceded by two vinyl remix EPs), the pair have called upon some of electronic music’s finest. The result is a set of reworks of tracks from their second album Reality, which takes the originals and scatters them even deeper across the galaxy. Out today, Om Unit’s take on This Foo delivers a masterclass in post dubstep drum work, which you can listen to below:

Elsewhere Pangaea presents some of his best material, turning Click into a pacey neon rave pumper, whist Danny Daze and his D33 alter-ego beams Lilac Chaser into bloopy-minimal-space-race headspace – you can listen below:

UNKLE aka James Lavelle turns Click into a grandiose, Ibiza-friendy pop prog anthem, whilst Matthew Dear goes in the opposite direction on his version of Mirage, delving into deep-beat cosmic fractals. For her take on Mirage Perel goes big on the oompty-boom-tish-euro-fist-pump, whilst Jonny Rock reassembles the same track into an unclassifiable avant space chugger. Brendon Moeller delivers not one, not two but three versions of Scram City; a ‘House Dub’, which does what it says on the tin, a pulsatile submarine throbber under his Echologist moniker, and a Reshape, which combines the dub techno for which he’s renowned with 90-style breakbeat science and 70s Krautrock.

Earlier this year, whilst on various capers across the farthest reaches of space, Lost Souls Of Saturn metamorphosed into sci-fi AR comic characters John and Frank. They returned back to earth with their perception-melting new LP Reality, which was described as “the kind of record you make at the top of your game” by Resident Advisor.

‘Reality’ was accompanied by a cutting-edge augmented reality graphic novel, which tells the origin story of John and Frank. It’s a genuinely new type of total artwork, with comic, augmented reality and musical soundtrack working together to create a type of synesthesia. Every spread, page and panel, when viewed through a tablet screen or AR headset/glasses, comes to life in animated 3D. Moreover, the LSOS soundtrack is synched perfectly, with the music fully integrated, looping and layering as the reader follows the panels of the comic itself. A soundtrack that evolves as the graphic novel is read is the first of its kind. This is music, animation and illustration in sync like never before.

Coinciding with the album and comic release, Lost Souls Of Saturn held a month-long multimedia exhibition at London’s cutting-edge public art platform W1 Curates. Described by Evening Standard as “one particular corner of central London transformed into a giant, interactive comic book”, it bought LSOS’ conceptual word-building to vivid three-dimensional life. A first in the comic book world, augmented reality visions from the comic were shown on giant super high-definition floor-to-ceiling LED screens not only inside the gallery, but on Oxford Street itself.

The AR comic and W1 Curates London event continued Lost Souls Of Saturn’s previous experiments in the augmented reality sphere; their AR billboards in London and Ibiza, their exploratory work in the field of 3D printing and AR markers, and their creation of Mixmag magazine’s first AR triggered front cover.

Challenging the convention of ‘format’ in every sense, LSOS transmit and engage via the mediums, to date, of vinyl record, digital, art installation, artefact, augmented reality, 360 video and live performance.

Through LSOS, Troxler, Moffa and cohorts explore new ways to open doors of perception and challenge the ways we see our world, whilst marrying the prescient visions, political aspirations and psychedelic energy of science fiction and early rave culture, with postmodern philosophy and contemporary art.

Their collaborations to date include Fondation Beyeler, Olafur Eliasson, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) Saatchi Gallery (London), Museum Of Contemporary Art Detroit, the Centre D’Art Contemporain Geneva, Wolfgang Tillmans, Ernest Neto, W1 Curates, Carl Craig and Pepe Braddock.

They have performed live at Fabric, Field Day, Glastonbury and Kappa Futur.

Published post no.2,225 – Wednesday 10 July 2024