Songs and Bodies by Piotr Kurek

For fans of Bark Psychosis, Tara Jane O’Neil, King Crimson, and the refusal to let our humanity go gentle into that good night, Songs and Bodies by Piotr Kurek uses a kraut-influenced post rock form to subvert the conventions of canned music. Canned music, also known as muzak or elevator music, fills a public space with soothing, predictable sounds to inspire an attitude of docile consumerism among customers and employees alike. Starting at a krautrock rhythm section, one which maintains drum and bass grooves consistently to pull us into a psychedelic trance, we already start to see the crossover with canned music. However, a distinct, individual creative voice intervenes in the melodic instruments, introducing elements of glitch electronica and free improvisation to constantly assert the presence of an intelligent hand behind this sprawling sonic landscape. Unsurprisingly given its origin and purpose, canned music quickly saw its composers replaced by AI as soon as technology allowed, making this album and others in adjacent genres a radical break with a trend towards soulless automation.