«Assume. Consume.» — Virtual Muse explores the intangible reality of the digital space and a subsequent feeling of detachment from our human nature.
Isolation is the theme of the intimate yet expressive 13 songs on Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys’ latest album, A Human Home. On this record, South African-born and Berlin-based artist Lucy Kruger explores the feeling of home, heavily influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of these songs, Virtual Muse, was treated to a new visualiser video, which celebrates its premiere here today:
Kruger expands on the influences in A Human Home:
«Berlin was the place that I was living in the moment that a virus stopped the world in its tracks, but I wasn’t quite sure if it was home. There was a sea between me and my family and no way to cross it. Except through the telephone, the computer screen, and a body, heart, brain full of memories, feeling, thought, and imagination.»
The sound of Virtual Muse—a desolate soundscape of droning guitars—palpably reflects digital dehumanisation. It evokes a sense of eerie detachment, yet Lucy Kruger’s whispered monologue injects a poignant, intimate touch into the minimalist composition, creating an emphatic emotional resonance.
Virtual Muse is also a perfect example of the band’s developed sound on the album, which seems far from what the noise and art rock group displayed on last year’s record, Heaving.
Lucy Kruger abandoned the guitar at the beginning of her songwriting process for the first time: «I promised to let go of judgment in the process. A naive and feeling-based exploration of sampled drum sounds and synths, along with some more familiar guitar-based songs.»
While wandering uncharted sonic paths, they remain deeply committed to their signature depth and eccentric atmosphere.
