Apashe and Vladimir Cauchemar release ‘RIP,’ a single that is inspired by current events and a film selected for preservation by the United States’ National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. The cinematic new single is out now on Kannibalen Records.
… we decided to write the soundtrack for the end of the world.
Apashe who always has had a talent for creating music that is dramatic, dark, and doomful described how they were inspired to create ‘RIP’ and the symbolic music video, “Met Vladimir Cauchemar at a G7 meeting and we both felt like the world was in a really bad place. After discussing how this whole thing would end we decided to write the soundtrack for the end of the world. This is RIP. The rest is history.”
He further has alluded to another source of inspiration which was the film Koyaanisqatsi, a non-narrative film that is comprised of mainly slow motion and time-lapse shots of natural landscapes in the United States. Phillip Glass composed the music for Koyaanisqatsi, and Apashe stated that the “repetitive, hypnotic nature” of his music was “highly alluring” and an inspiration for the music video for ‘RIP.’ There are some of the same elements in ‘RIP’ which show how Apashe and Cauchemar adopted a similar technique; there’s the quick, repetitive melody, the splashes of chaotic imagery fastened to sharp sound samples, and the complete omission of words or vocalizations.
The track begins with icy orchestral elements true to Apashe’s style. ‘RIP’ has that classical sound with a leading organ melody backed by the swelling string trills of violins, upright bass, and cellos that melts into flutes and horns. Every element bleeds with theatrics equal to that of any blockbuster movie soundtrack, crests over the organ melody, and tumbles into a big, booming, house beat. This is what will remind fans of Apashe’s more hard-hitting bass style as well as his tendency to disregard the boundaries of music genres.
Apashe and Vladimir Cauchemar release ‘RIP’ at the end of a pandemic, during the beginning of another war, and the looming chaos of the damaged environment caused by global warming. The video for ‘RIP’ is rife with symbolism for the most inescapable world issues such as war, climate change, and classism. As it begins, Vladimir Cauchemar is playing the eerie organ melody as the scene is set within a city where people are going about their day when they are interrupted by something in the sky. This scene with its repetitive skyward expressions along with the tension in the music brings together feelings of isolation, universalism, and helplessness. The shadow that falls on each of their faces is cast by a spaceship, an air vessel if you will, which carries Apashe and Cauchemar who look down on the planet. They host on their ship what appear to be the leaders of the world and have an entire team of servants laying a decadent meal for them that is complete with gold silverware and crystal wine glasses- the unphased and in power of the world who are distant from the doom. The climax of the video is when the earth is shown from space being consumed by fire as the elite dig into roasts and cornucopias with voracious ungracefulness. The very last shot is of Chauchemar ceremoniously knighting Apashe in front of a blindfolded orchestra which comes across as more ominous than victorious.
Check out ‘RIP’ and the epic music video.
