Image
Album Streaming

Experimental London Post-Punk Duo Auto Portrait Release Debut Single “I, Pre Defined”

Based in London, Auto Portrait is a couple/duo consisting of poet Suki Vita and classical composer/visual artist Luca Bailey. Through poetry, visual art, and sonic trial-and-error, Auto Portrait is the outcome of the union between their multicultural backgrounds. Suki Vita grew up in Tokyo; Luca Bailey in Birmingham, UK.

Their debut single “I, Pre Defined” and it’s B-Side “By You Infinitely”  are completely different in execution but serve as mirrors to the experience of the inevitable destiny one gets assigned to in life. “I, Pre-Defined” is illustrated by a vast array of sounds, from industrial percussion, dissonant guitars, string sections, and traditional Japanese instrumentation. There are screams, haunting vocals from Vita, spoken words from both Vita and Bailey, and a general feeling of discomfort and paranoia. It’s a fascinating interplay between two artists who come from cultures still very much ensnared in traditional expectations, classism, racism, sexism, and xenophobia. This song – as well as Basil Kräher‘s amazing cover photo for the album –  perfectly encapsulates that feeling of alienation from and discontent with these suffocating societal constraints. Surely there are other options out there on the road less traveled, they assert.

“Some have no choice than to be stripped from their dreams and desired paths,” Vita explains. “This song represents the idea of stepping out of our known destiny to escape the stagnant structure and be conscious of the consequences in staying silent under these conditions.”

The B-side ‘By You Infinitely’ explores the fear of losing the embrace of the ones we love the most, and the inevitability of growing further away from their memory as time passes. This is illustrated by a syncopated modular synth ballad centred around the duality of loss and preservation. The sound is reminiscent of composer Richard Harvey, mixed with the vocal elements of Nick Drake.

“It celebrates the life-affirming nature of those embraces, and gives hope to the present moment,” says Bailey.

The album was recorded by Mark Gittins at Megatone Studios, and mastered by Mark Gittins for Dolby Atmos at Sensound Audio. Auto Portrait are looking forward to recording new material and preparing for their debut live shows later this year.

Follow Auto Portrait:

Alice Teeple

Alice Teeple is a photographer, multidisciplinary artist, and writer. She is not in Tin Machine.

Recent Posts

  • Bands

Poison & Rain — Louisiana Alt-Rockers The Links Debut Psychedelic New Single “Sela”

Louisiana’s own The Links emerged from Lafayette’s sun-baked streets in the early 2010s, their sound a raw cut of Southern…

2 hours ago
  • Bands

Deliver Us From Evil — Vancouver Shoegaze Act Revolution Above Disorder Debuts Video for “The Flowers of Destruction”

Decadence and seduction Oblivion is coming Deliver us from evil The Flowers of Destruction Revolution Above Disorder, led by Irish-born…

2 hours ago
  • Bands

Toronto Shoegazers Rituals Debut Hazy Post-Punk Single “Illusions”

Toronto shoegaze outfit Rituals first stirred to life in 2009, a quiet experiment in Adam Seward’s small, dim room, where…

1 day ago
  • Bands

Filled with Fire — Swiss Cold Wavers Future Faces Unveil Video for “Neon Outlines”

Filled with fire Come to me Suspended with so much pleasure No matter how scared we may be To live…

1 day ago
  • Bands

Starlight Star Bright — Icelandic Trio Kælan Mikla Pull Down the Veil of Night in Their Video for “Stjörnuljós”

Be a starlight once more that guides me in the dead of night and when your fire weakens I shall…

2 days ago
  • Bands

Qual Unleashes Sci-Fi Apocalyptic Video for Primal EBM Jam “Funeral Fashion”

Sarcophagus golden carcass Sarcophagus rigor mortis Drenched in cataclysm and curled in dystopian dread, Qual—William Maybelline’s fierce alter ego—seizes the…

3 days ago
Sticky Footer Banner with Close Button