Mixing up different elements of industrial music, trip hop, industrial hip hop, electronica and spoken word.
The lyrics and video are describing our dis-connectivity, dehumanising and programming through phone and computer devices. And the way humans are being cloned through AI, the insidious way we are shaped and moulded through complexed algorithms and popular culture.
As the creator behind “Apparitions,” I find myself reflecting on the emotions and inspirations that led me to craft this album. Living alone at the time opened me up to deep introspection, shaping both the lyrics and sounds. Being cut off from people often serves as the catalyst for creativity and productivity.
I deliberately isolated myself to create a dedicated space for the album’s inception. It was akin to an inner-city dwelling, where I could hear the noise and hustle outside my window without becoming directly involved. I became the observer of the night, watching chaos unfold from my vantage point. However, I did venture out most Saturday nights for drinks, seeking human contact to maintain balance. Sometimes, getting lost in the revelry was essential to break the monotony and introduce much-needed contrast. Aside from those outings, I intentionally avoided seeing or speaking to anyone to avoid distractions. This routine persisted for over a year during the album’s production, serving as a focused and mood-enhancing backdrop to the project.
The essence of “Apparitions” lies in its fusion of diverse musical styles, including Trip Hop, Industrial Hip Hop, Dark Electro, Dub, and Breakbeats, to name a few. The album often explores dark, haunting, and eerie themes, but it also incorporates moments of light and hope to create a balanced experience.
The lyrics explore the subject of sociopathy and psychopathy. Talking about a malevolent character who charms and swindles, deceives and manipulates. A dark and twisted charlatan who exploits people for personal gain.
The music is inspired by the trip hop, industrial, electronica, hip hop.
The video was filmed somewhere in the English countryside along with urban shots in London and Bristol.
The video tries to convey a lost soul, someone searching and looking but is always alone and desolate. In a perpetual state of dereliction and existential decay. Happy stuff hey lol. Well sometimes you need tap into the darker parts of the human psyche to understand the full spectrum of human existence.
The music is inspired by industrial music and groups like Nine Inch Nails. This merged with the spoken word, makes a kind of industrial hip hop style track. There is also the presence of jungle, and the darker tones of trip hop. I really love mixing and cross pollinating genres. For me this is what makes it interesting and helps to keep the ALLFLAWS sound original. Well I will leave it up to you to decide whether it’s original. I do try anyway.
“It seems like a lifetime ago since this was released. The lyrics feel more than relevant now. What a time we are living in; culture is so dumbed down, superficial, and vacuous. Music is at the forefront of this relentless dumbing down and the general debasing of the mind. Rampantly promoting primitive and aggressive men who are unable to speak very well is one way to fragment culture and cause mass divide. An inarticulate, unintelligent, and aggressive man is nothing but futile and dangerous.
Life imitates art, and people will inhabit a look, vernacular, and attitude that promotes violence, aggression, and leads to crime. Just look at the knife crime epidemic in the UK right now, and you will see a pattern.
The video has nothing to do with me. It has been made by someone else, so the imagery of the people in the video doesn’t necessarily reflect the lyrics or meaning of the song.”
The music is incorporating a bit of punk attitude with trip hop, breakbeat, industrial hip hop and electronica.
Alarm rings to start the day, as another dream fades to grey Can’t break from the daily grind, living life on borrowed time Early rise, tired eyes, clocking in to slave away Everybody is on the run, and no-one stops to take a breath Life keeps passing by, and every chance is getting missed Time keeps ticking by, and all we do is just exist The cunning trick of this design, keeps us trapped inside our minds Can’t see beyond these walls, and can’t see what life could be Just caught up in the same routine, with no time to live our dreams And no space to go and roam, and no truth to call our own Just shadows of our former selves, swindled by this cruel game Just shadows of our former selves, feeling all the systems pain.
The apparitions of yesteryear are coming round full circle, Doing orbits of your history, winding back your symmetry, Your mistakes are carved in their hearts, and your fate is etched from their scars, Your treachery is survived by those who bare your marks, The watchmen is counting backwards, the now is becoming the past, As you slowly sink deeper into the sands of the hour glass, Coz time is coming back for you, time is bringing your death, As the hands of the clock grip your neck, you take your last breath.
You feel your time is coming, You’re reaping what you’re sowing, You hear the devil calling, Your mind away.
You spin the Samsaric wheel until Satan strikes you a deal, He says, “lower others to raise yourself and true happiness you will feel, You think you’re winner, but you’re a sinner, Your gain is a flagrant lie, Coz the unconscious mind falls blind, and defeats you every time.
Abomination screams your name, Luring you to the darker side, The ego says go right ahead, Posing as your righteous guide, You do it all for the fucking high, you do it all for your shallow pride, But it takes you further down.
The demons that you choose to create, Are the demons that seal your fate, Cause and affect, karmic vex, Now your time is coming next, Like Aaaagh, Aaaagh, Booom, You reap the pain of your own design, You manifest your own demise, Coz now your enemy is your mind.
You feel your time is coming, You’re reaping what you’re sowing, You hear the devil calling, Your mind away.
Karma comes colossal when you shoot angles from the skies, Now the victims of your malevolence will be the judges of your demise, The future will be written by the ghosts of your history, The ones who suffer your devilry will be the deciders of your destiny.
The fist you throw circles the earth, And comes back behind you to deal you a curse, Your blow returns on the akashic breeze, Your rage comes three sixty degrees.
You know the devil’s calling, Your mind away.
You feel your time is coming, You’re reaping what you’re sowing, You hear the devil calling, Your mind away.
This track delves into the pervasive impact of systemic control and the encroachment of fear and anxiety. Whether these influences stem from external sources or arise within, they can compromise your immune system and hinder your ability to experience genuine freedom. This track embodies the subtle and concealed power that governs individuals in our societal structures. Drawing inspiration from a diverse range of musical genres, including industrial, electronica, trip hop, dub, and industrial hip hop, it delivers a dark, intense, and moody atmosphere – Just the way I like it.
This track lyrically is inspired by a kind of raw and unwavering rebellion. Turning the sides of our personality like aggression, resentment, anger and rage into a powerful force for positivity and change. Apathy and complacency sometimes need to be attacked inside ourselves to stop us from being weak and subservient. (The chorus line says it all really (WAKING UP THE REBEL, I’M TEARING DOWN THESE WALLS) The music takes different genres and mangles them together in a typical dark and edgy Allflaws way. Very much inspired by punk, industrial hip hop, grime, trip hop, electronica and breakbeat.
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