Dez Dare rages with the machines (and the rest of the oppressed) in his electrifying and edifying new single and video Brutalised Robotics — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Taking a page from Devo‘s vintage user manual and rewiring it for our contemporary dystopia of oppression, exploitation and naked savagery, the multi-tasking multi-hyphenate takes a radical stand in favour of humanity and benevolence for all — including our silicon-based brethren and digital AI comrades:
“Discard the minutes
Brutalised by fear
I run so far ahead to find the days that you lost
You lost inside your heart
Bled by time, brutalised by fear
Brutalised robotics, stand up and shout clear.”
“Here we draw parallels with how humanity exploits technology compared to how they treat all living beasts,” Dare explains. “What is consciousness? What is success for an organism? Dominance or longevity? One day all sentients will eventually pry the foot from their neck.”
Speaking of longevity: Dare (aka Darren Smallman of bands like Thee Vinyl Creatures, The Sound Platform and Warped — and more recently, labels such as God Unknown, Battle Worldwide and Low Transit Industries) grew up in Geelong, Australia, where he became involved in the local punk and rock scene in 1990. He shared stages with the likes of 5678s, Cosmic Psychos, Fugazi, The Dirty Three and The Hard-ons before shifting his focus to running record labels.
But old habits die hard. So, here in the grim 2020s, Dare has returned to his rock ’n’ roll duty. Holing up in a spare room in Brighton, U.K., he has fashioned a studio to produce music and videos that audaciously whack every mole in the artistic arcade — garage-rock, power-pop, new wave, electronica, psychedelia — while maintaining a stylish minimalism and pointed propulsion.
On this particular slice of thin-crust eccentricity, our hero is joined by Laura Loriga on backing vocals, expanding on the sound of previous records and adding a new dimension to his trademark weird-n-roll. Welcome to the machine. And bid welcome to the machine. After all, we’re all in this together.
Watch the video for Brutalised Robotics above, hear more from Dez Dare below, and do your damnedest to keep up with him on his website, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and TikTok.
