L.O.T.I.O.N. / Scumputer "Split" LP
$17.00
540 Records is proud to present a split offering and a rallying cry from L.O.T.I.O.N. and Scumputer called Campaign for Digital Destruction. The pair offer eleven abominations, calling upon distorted and manipulated samples, synths, drum machines and a perversion of traditional instrumentation to create a dystopian vision of a society in collapse. The cover art alone, a collaboration between Death Traitors and Gabba of Chaos UK, is a perfect distillation of the band’s overall approach: a peak behind the curtain at a cold and unforgiving future.
NYC’s L.O.T.I.O.N. could only exist in the now– the digital age ruled by a bloated capitalist tyrant consumed by a move toward totalitarianism. L.O.T.I.O.N. is hardcore in the digital age– bursting with nihilism, a sneering hatred for injustice and icy disdain for humanity at large in an era where an email or text is a sufficient substitute for a personal conversation. Citing the work of Scumputer as a key influence, more conventional ideas from Killing Joke, Pailhead, DAF, Skinny Puppy and Throbbing Gristle appear and vanish through the duration of Campaign. Yet L.O.T.I.O.N. is an entity onto itself– calculating, remorseless and seething with malcontent. The material on the split represents the final recordings with Emil Bognar-Nasdor, mastermind behind Dawn of Humans and former percussionist for Hank Wood & the Hammerheads.
Scumputer is the nom de guerre of Gabba from the legendary Chaos UK, who abandons much of the approach employed by that band while retaining the fury, cynicism and revolutionary ideas. Recorded by Rob Smith in Bristol and Kyoto between 2014 and 2016, Scumputer ropes in appearances from Japanese hardcore legends like Jun Kato of Warhead and Mune from Clown as Gabba explores the far reaches of punk, hip hop, experimental, edm, industrial and all grey areas therein. The result is an eclectic yet totally cohesive trip through pop culture, media saturation, politics and more through the eyes of a skeptical, educated renegade.