Oblivion Seekers by Ben Vida

For fans of Steve Reich, Atomiste, Current 93, abstract hip hop, and the snippets of meaning we overhear in conversations every day, Oblivion Seekers by Ben Vida presents a linguistic experiment set to music, it’s spoken word vocals blending seamlessly into a backdrop of minimal slowcore. Each lyrical line in this record functions in equal parts to convey concrete meaning and to generate pleasant sounds, syllables serving as both instruments and messages to be enjoyed at all levels of concentration. Additionally, these phrases generally constitute one-liners which levitate eerily when ripped from their original contexts, every moment bursting at the seams with directionless meaning, challenging us to allow each thought to pass along gracefully. While the daunting jumble of language we encounter every day may feel overwhelming, when put in the context of neoclassical minimalism this overstimulation becomes a meditative haven. As we encounter more information every day than any generation has before, Ben Vida provides a blueprint for processing which preserves our peace and prepares us for an even more chaotic future.