Melbourne Darkwave Outfit Quell Debuts Video for “Degenerate”

The shrapnel of Western terrorism and the degradation of landscape, the flames of which have engulfed the archives of “history” and our environments. A surveillance of the concept of self as well as the notion of the individual; challenging the language of imperialism and distorting the rigid, hierarchical structures of power and control. This is the impetus behind Endless, the new video release from Australian outfit Quell. After releasing their debut EP in 2019, and a split cassette with Ov Pain called Delusions in 2020, they are now preparing for the release of their sophomore EP Endless.

Quell explores repetition and layered rhythms situated within sprawling spaces and ambience. The band produces and performs with hardware electronics, deploying synths and samples with an aim at the body. “Degenerate” is an interpretation of EBM tropes; affective sounds and dance rhythms, using the camp bravado of the genre to present the facade of the man who inspired the record.

“Endless was made during a period marked by a tumultuous acquaintance with a man of professional violence,” says the band. “The record probes the industrial systems and cycles of trauma that brought his violence to being. It presents a camp, hyperbolic machismo in its immediate sonic character, while processed recorded and found sounds and voices hint to a more complex reality.” “Degenerate” explores a performative ‘hardness’ with a fragile, albeit still hostile, underbelly.

The video for “Degenerate”, created by Sara Manojlovic, employs found-footage as it explores the complexities of lived experience, identity, and of place.

Watch the clip below:

Order the album here, out via Dero Arcade on July 30th, 2021.