On May 28, the Athens-based industrial – electronics/ post-punk outfit Mechanimal released the official video of ‘Sharon’ that is taken from their latest astonishing album ‘Crux’ which was released last January via Inner Ear records. Follοwing its own unique course in art generally, this pretty productive team unleashed another video in the series of ‘Crux’ album after ‘Scavengers’, and ‘Stolen Flesh’, it is time for Sharon’s narration now.
An immersive piece of music in the band’s trademark industrialism that includes shades of darkwave over a clear post-punk arrangement. Mechanimal ‘s approach is not easy to explain in a few given tags as it is mostly a quite adventurous maze of electronic machines that are provided by mastermind Giannis Papaioannou (ION), and by the always imposing voice of Freddie Faulkenberry. All of this makes Mechanimal a truly unique moniker in the wider alternative music ocean and here we have the story of Sharon as it is seen and explained by ION who wrote the music and lyrics and who also worked on the pixel sorting of the video.
I asked him about the story in the song and this is what he told me:
Mechanimal’s “Sharon” is a song that pays tribute to that particular time when the “love and peace” era came to an abrupt end. With this song we’re not talking about the moment the ’60s ended, nor about the decade. Instead, we’re talking about that particular decade’s hopes and dreams and potential. It’s a song about a girl who could feel comfortable with her sexuality and body when sex was great and not shameful. “Sharon” is about that generation’s belief they could change the world, end wars, or protect the earth. All these years later, after witnessing all human sickness appear again and again in many more sophisticated or modern or political forms, Mechanimal’s ‘Sharon’ serves as a glitched-out pagan ritual to bring down all those who don’t know what to do with something good.
And I started seeing clearly the purposes of the band once I heard Freddy‘s voice commanding
O-Sharon/ You are light supreme/ When our hearts of gloom crying/ And you step into our dreams/ Sister/ Take us flying.
The hypnotic video transforms catwalk poses into an abstract choreography of flowing beauty, as a spotlight illuminates the graceful body movement of a model into blurred elongated shadows time-lapsed into a multidimensional aquatic dance.
Keep Up With Mechanimal:
Mechanimal Photo by Paris Tavitian
Written by Loud Cities’ Mike with video description by Catt Gillette
