Review: Chris Korda – Not My Problem, I’ll be Dead EP [BBB]
By Trommel Staff – 9 October 2023
With each passing release from Yoyaku
and Perlon mainstay Chris Korda, her manifesto is clear, and that is to
educate all those that listen to her music on the current and future
state of the world we call home. Offering blistering rhetoric on how we
found ourselves in this sorry state, each track, as well as being
excellent productions, always come with a large side of brutal parody.
Chris Korda consistently lampoons her own generation as being the
apathetic group of individuals that can be largely attributed to the
downfall of the planet.
Readers of these pages will likely
remember Chris’s Perlon bound long player “Apologise to the Future”,
where this record spoke on behalf of current and future generations,
“Not My Problem, I’ll Be Dead” is written as if a directly flippant
response to the topics posed previously. Beginning with “Baby Batter
Bingo” the harsh synths inject a distinct edge to the release, the
vocoded musings tell the tale of the protagonist, born into money at the
height of the Baby Boomer generation and the disdain for the future
cannot be hidden. There is a bit of juxtaposition here with regards to
the vocal content not matching with the mostly upbeat and sparkly audio
content, but this is where Korda comes into her own.
Following is lead track “Not My
Problem, I Will be Dead” and the verbal middle finger continues to be
flicked in the direction of the coming ages. The track title tells you
all you need to know about the intended message here, the track also
goes a long way to tell this story also, with waning synths, bowing bass
tones and jazzy percussion licks present an ominous picture. Having
been inspired by her father, it is not clear whether he welcomes his
daughter’s point of view or music, but we are sure the sentiment is not
completely lost.
Side B is just as thought provoking
and widely informed by Korda’s readings and influences from the likes of
Woody Allen, Emily Dickinson, and Elon Musk. “Have A Good One” is a
bittersweet commentary on a number of combined ideas with the optimistic
bassline and shimmering vocals explaining that when it comes to this
generation they took what they wanted because they could and now it’s up
to you to pay the price tag. Completing another footnote in Chris
Korda’s legacy is “Awesome On Mars” and the previously mentioned
billionaire was the centerpoint for Korda reimagining Las Vegas, but
transplanted to Mars. Written on the way to the airport, the skipping
beats, flickering percussion, and bubbling synth lines offer a cosmic
backdrop to the thoughts on Earth already being a defunct proposition.
While each track does have
predominant time signatures, for those interested in the song structure
and use of polymeter “Baby Batter Bingo” is in 4/4 and 3/4, “Not My
Problem, I’ll Be Dead” in 17/4, “Have a Good One” in 5/4, and “Awesome
on Mars” in 35/4.
You can buy Chris Korda’s “Not My Problem, I’ll be Dead” EP from Yoyaku now.
If this resonates with you and you
are looking for more science from Chris, then we highly recommend
checking out her recent “Primitive Man” EP, also available on Yoyaku.
More info on Chris Korda
Trommel Feature | Facebook | RA | SoundCloud | Instagram | Bandcamp | Discogs
|