Photo by Werner Nowak
Utopia is dead. Long live Goatopia. Viva! GOATopia!
Thomas More’s 15q6 socio-political satire Utopia – meaning “nowhere” – imagined a future way of life and social order in a fictional island kingdom. Austria’s The Devil & The Universe took a cue from More and created their own utopia…of goats. In a world out of balance, the Viennese band is reluctant to face dystopian predictions: instead, they unmask the spectre of the future.
In 2013, Ashley Dayour and David Pfister founded The Devil & The Universe, focusing on musical experimentation with magical systems; the herd was later joined by Stefan Elsbacher. Inspired by Krautrock, conceptual art bands like The Residents and Devo, and a generous smattering of the occult, the track “Viva! Goatopia” is a synth frenzy peppered with thundering drums and spoken word samples. They gleefully mix cinematic ambient sounds and driving beats in their cauldrons, don goat masks, and deliver it all with sardonic humour. “VIVA! GOATopia hallucinates the missed opportunities of the past without mourning them.
The video, directed by Edie Calie, shows the GOATopia in the once-promising world of an abandoned geodesic dome. The darkly funny video concept brings to life what was once described forty years ago by Fad Gadget: the attempts to control nature and society in the face of global disaster.
Watch the video for “Viva! Goatopia” below:
“Viva! Goatopia” follows The Devil and The Universe’s previous video, “The Great God Pan Is Dead (Long Live The Great God Pan)”, which was released at the end of November.
GOATopia continues the psychedelic feeling from their previous album: Endgame 69, ever innovating their sound. After all, Utopias themselves are created, destroyed, and rebuilt.
GOATopia is out now on vinyl via AUFNAHME + WIEDERGABE, and on CD & Digital via SOLAR LODGE. (The vinyl should ship around February 17th).
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