Transmission draws inspiration from the Detroit and New York techno and house scenes of the turn of the century. In particular, the work references the contemporary and historic relationships of these communities to science fiction and technology, activism, and art. Lost Souls Of Saturn combine these influences with tropes borrowed from postmodern philosophy, conspiracy theory, Afro-futurism, and Eastern mysticism to create a personal mythology that asks us to question our experience within the world.
The artists take as their starting point a simulated universe or “Holoverse”—a veneer-like dimension that exists as what we would call “reality”—maintained through six forms of human suffering, identified as Bigotry, Deception, Greed, Narcissism, Objectification, and Pollution.
The existence of this illusory world, and the principles that underpin it, were revealed to the group members Seth Troxler & Phil Moffa through a series of broadcasts claiming to originate from the vicinity of the planet Saturn. These transmissions were received during the pairs late night studio sessions whilst completing the album that serve’s as the installation’s soundtrack, and channelled through the use of specific rhythms and timbres.
Transmission allows the audience to experience the visual and sonic world of Lost Souls Of Saturn as they journey through the Holoverse, along the way illuminating the machinations that engender the existence of this dystopian dimension and inviting us to imagine what worlds can exist beyond it.
For Transmission, Lost Souls of Saturn are Seth Troxler and Phil Moffa (Artistic Direction and Music), Koolik (Video), Marc Ippon De Ronda (Light Installation), ATO Designs (Installation Production), and Andrew Lochhead (Creative Consultant).
The artists gratefully acknowledge and thank for their assistance: L-Acoustics, the team at Tusk Management and Grade especially Ed Cartwright, Mike Cridland, and Rag Satguru for their incredible support through this project, Hingston Design Studio, Alex Richardson, Hal Hefner, Josh Jones, and Greg Hermanovic.
Additional video footage provided by Genki Nishida (Forest Sequence) and Gia Ventura (Drone Cinematography).
Transmission premiered at Nordstern Basel in June 2019 during Art Basel before moving to London for a three month long installation at Saatchi Gallery as part of Sweet Harmony: Rave Today from July – September 2019.
