‘Camera Obscura’ is not your average album, in the same way as Scopitone is not your average artist. Hailing from Belgium, the talented musician and visionary has built a record that reads more like a soundtrack, an evocative, brooding album packed with melodic urgency, eclectic allure, and a great deal of deeper meaning. You see, ‘Camera Obscura’ functions as an aural companion to our broken reality. To do so, Scopitone focuses on a series of inventions and discoveries that have shaped human technological advancement.
Broadly, this all feels like a highly emotional reckoning, an attempt by Scopitone to highlight the destructive and dystopian path embarked on by the human race. Episodes such as ‘Karelian Dreams’ are pretty effective at that, truly melancholic and sombre, yet also anthemic and vibrant. A gifted drummer and songwriter, Scopitone wanders across rock and psychedelia, all seen through a highly cinematic and soundtrack-driven perspective.
In a sense, ‘Camera Obscura’ reveals a strikingly prophetic character. Conceived on November 5th 2024, the night of Donald Trump’s re-election, the album stems from Scopitone’s deep-rooted need to soundtrack his worries, knowing full well that a dark and complex stint was ahead of him. As he eloquently explains: “I couldn’t find the right music to channel my emotions, so I decided to compose the soundtrack to my worries on my own.” It turns out, he was right, and as ‘Camera Obscura’ is out now, everybody can benefit from the record’s cathartic and introspective charge.
‘Camera Obscura’ is out now via Protomaterial Records.
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