Muzak for the Encouragement of Unproductivity by Jasmine Guffond
Instant gratification is killing us. As demand within the imperial core escalates, crumbling systems cannot keep up. Exploitative business models offer "innovative solutions" that, at first, seem like an improvement from the status quo; only for venture capitalists to pull the rug after hooking the gullible on their empty promises.
But before one-click purchasing, before celebrity space tourism, when artificial intelligence was merely a glimmer in Arthur C. Clarke's eye, there was Muzak. A corporate undertaking, Muzak offered commodified ambiance with a hefty price tag and a trademark symbol to back it up. But this ubiquitous soundtrack to offices and elevators wasn't only a cash-grab. Born out of the era of unethical psychological "research", Muzak was carefully engineered down to the note with a subliminal message. In malls and grocery stores: shop longer, buy more. In offices and warehouses: work harder, more efficiently. With the promise of increased profits and dronified employees, Muzak became a line item on every bloated marketing budget across the professional world.
With this context, the new record Muzak for the Encouragement of Unproductivity by Jasmine Guffond is a unique revival and subversion of the commercial soundscape. Guffond's grounded approach to Muzak induces a state of alert relaxation, centering a message of conscious consumption that is needed now more than ever. These longform arrangements still the listener's inner atmosphere, melodious reed and brass instruments slowly mingling in reverb-soaked harmony.
And it's the reverberant quality that makes Muzak for the Encouragement of Unproductivity an especially powerful response to the capitalist experiment. In a practice reminiscent of those developed by fringe street art activists during the latter half of the 20th century, the record is sonically engineered with a backdoor into the heart of darkness itself. Digitally molded around the interior dimensions of an Amazon Distribution Center located just outside of Berlin, Germany, Guffond psychically confines her record within the walls of the warehouse. It's easy to imagine these ambient tones echoing throughout the massive building, a portal to a mirror world where everything moves much slower. No sounds of beeping barcode scanners or idling freight truck engines. Only gentle swells of tuba and trombone, waves of droning frequencies that melt away tension in the mind and the body. The workers are at rest.
No, Muzak for the Encouragement of Unproductivity may not singlehandedly bring about the collapse of Blackrock et al. But on an individual level, the album compels the listener to slow down and reconsider their motivations. It is through that kind of thoughtful introspection that wounds of alienation can be addressed. When approached with an openness to its message of degrowth, Muzak for the Encouragement of Unproductivity soothes our collective burnout and offers an alternative to the harmful agendas that got us here in the first place.
- Kalen
