Presented by Cvlt Nation.

Southern UK based sludgy noise rock duo Modern Technology present their new music video and single DEAD AIR, the leading track and first offering from their forthcoming second album Conditions Of Worth. Dead Air kicks into life with a dense smog-like atmosphere, engulfing the listener in a battering of hard-hitting drums, fuzzed out bass riffs and gruff, acidic yelling. The song’s chorus “IS THIS HOW THE WORLD ENDS!?” becomes a cautionary mantra as the duo reminisce about good times gone, trudging on through a world that has become increasingly scarier, more dangerous, inhospitable and absurd. Dead Air is a sonic beatdown forged from chaos, restlessness and hostility concerning our impending shared future. 

The goal for the Dead Air music video was simple – to capture the rawness and visceral live energy of Modern Technology’s celebrated live performances. Shot in exquisite black and white, director Chris Purdie favours simplicity and authenticity, stripping everything back and placing the duo and their live gear into a proverbial blank space, captured in minimal unbroken takes. Even devoid of an audience feeding back their energy, the heavy pair showcase the sweat, fury and unyielding power that makes their exhilarating shows so compelling. With this song and much of the album being written and demoed during the pandemic, the band’s on screen solitude echoes the conditions in which the album was conceived. The visible anguish on the faces of band members Chris Clarke and Owen Gildersleeve mirror their shared concerns about social unrest, austerity, the climate crisis, and the feelings of fear, hopelessness and anger that came from such turbulent times – the very themes that make up Conditions Of Worth.  

Chris Purdie has long been a sought after videographer and photographer in London and surrounding UK cities for his exceptional work capturing metal bands in the live setting. Founder of YouTube channel Riff Underground, he has filmed full multi-camera live sets for many favourites in the UK heavy underground and beyond, including TORPOR, Kayo Dot, Vile Creature, Wallowing, Gnod, Petbrick, Dawn Ray’d, Hundred Year Old Man and more, as well as covering Raw Power and Chaos Theory festivals. Purdie has also directed the latest music video for revered US experimental hardcore champions Oxbow’s single ‘Dead Ahead’.

Dead Air is taken from Modern Technology’s forthcoming album Conditions Of Worth. Pre-order now at Human Worth.

Photo Credit: Chris Purdie
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