Hyperdub will release Lawrence Lek‘s score for his debut feature film, “AIDOL 爱道.”
“AIDOL 爱道” premiered at London gallery Sadie Coles HQ in 2019 and has since appeared in numerous virtual and physical art, film, and music festivals and exhibitions around the world. It tells the story of a fading superstar, Diva, who enlists an aspiring Artificial Intelligence songwriter to mount a comeback performance at the 2065 eSports Olympic finale. You can view the trailer here.
Lawrence’s accompanying soundtrack is a “delicate lattice,” we’re told, “complex, opaque, and entirely synthetic.” Diva’s yearning vocals, sung in English and Mandarin, cast classical melodies over billowing, intricately arranged songs. The instrumental tracks of the album, produced together with composer Seth Scott, are elegiac and beautiful, folding in patterns from game soundtracks and vaporwave.
Lek, based in London, is a simulation artist who uses computer-generated animation and video game engines to create films and virtual worlds. Outside of filmmaking, he has collaborated with Kode9 on the “Nøtel,” a simulation of a post-apocalyptic automated hotel, which began as a series of audio-visual performances and continues as a virtual reality installation. Lawrence has also released the soundtracks to five of his previous projects, most recently Temple OST earlier in 2020.
The vinyl release includes four new original prints of the “AIDOL 爱道” virtual world, and a downloadable bilingual lyric sheet in English and Chinese. A limited-edition USB card with a custom-printed case, with hi-res digital copies of the artwork and lossless versions of the tracks will also be available.
Tracklisting
01. Intro (My Single Isn’t Finished Yet)
02. Deep Blue Monday
03. In The Game
04. Chance Encounter (Jungle Theme) w/ Seth Scott
05. Call Of Beauty
06. Welcome To SoMA w/ Seth Scott
07. Unreal
08. Superstar
09. One Nation
10. Beware Your Fans, Diva
11. Call Of Beauty (eSports Reprise) w/ Seth Scott
12. Followers (Diva’s Theme)
13. Farsight’s Greatest Star
14. In My Prime (Bonus Track)
15. Apocalypse (End Credits)
AIDOL 爱道 (OST) LP is scheduled for November 27 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Unreal” below and pre-order the record here.
