German Post-Punk Trio Tausend Augen are Lost in the Shadows of Reality in Their Video for “Black Box”

 “The only conceivable way of unveiling a black box, is to play with it” – René Thom

In the dim corners where reality’s edges blur, Saarbrücken, Germany’s Tausend Augen, beckons us to lift the lid off the enigma of AI/artificial intelligence in the raucous ‘Black Box.’ Bathed in eerie ambiance, the song whirls with electronic echoes that waltz with ghostly reveries, as a haunting voice booms through the screen. Is he real, or an avatar?

Tausend Augen delivers a deliciously askew pulse of krautrock and blends it into a heady cocktail of noise, experimental rock, psychedelia, and the hum of electronics; a concoction that honours its roots yet flirts daringly with the future. This brand of dystopia feels less gloomy, and more like the remnants of a cosmic brownie experience.

Alexander Schimetzky takes to the drums, laying down rhythms that tug at the soul. Max Ludwig, with a palpable intensity, commands the bass, his fingers dancing over the strings. And then there’s Oliver Becker – a wiz on both the guitar and synthesizer, whose voice pierces the veil of sound, leading the ensemble.

Tausend Augen explores different dimensions where lightning challenges the boundaries of existence in their album “Black Box.” Some of the songs on the album touch upon the topic of artificial intelligence. “Black Box” is one such song, and generative AI was used create to the following synopsis:

“Lost in the shadows of reality, the band Thousand Eyes unveils the mystery of ‘Black Box’. In a gloomy, ominous atmosphere, electronic sounds merge with neo-ghoulish visions. Clad in silver suits, they enter a parallel universe where lightning bolts break the boundaries between worlds. Welcome to a journey cast in surreal imagery by Keine Zeit Medien. Dive into the black box and uncover your own truth.”

Play with restraint, shed excess to find freedom, pare down to amplify, transform in cycles, and venture forth. If you dare to peek into the black box, you may even discover your own salacious secrets.

Watch the video for “Black Box” below:

Schock teeters on the precipice that spans from electronic realms to the echoes of electro and electric pulses. The band finds a newfound coherence, a heightened minimalism, an even more potent electronic essence. Analogue synthesizers engage in a tango with post-punk guitars and the unrelenting Motorik beats. Vocoder-infused voices emerge and evaporate in the interplay of dissonance and harmony, crafting a score for an alternate present, a soundscape of elsewhere. The rhythm, unyielding, strides forth from their last album, venturing deep into the obscure shadowlands of the Anthropocene. What follows in the wake of reality’s finale? The cosmos takes on the hues of a comic strip, melodies of the future birthed in the factory of nightmares. A clandestine mirror, revealing glimpses of the world beyond, a realm untold.

Here’s what the band has to say:

S py mirror to the next world,
C ries of panic, hidden from sight
H ysteria and panic the world in shock
O bsidian shadows never sleep
C rash and collapse,
K aleidoscopic neon lights – everything is science fiction.”

Pre-order Schock on Vinyl and CD here, and pre-save the album on streaming here.

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