1. Algi… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least three artists which use the Algiers name:
1. Algiers is a band of musicians born in Atlanta, Georgia, the rotten hub of the Ol’ American South, where W.E.B. Dubois once saw a riot goin’ on, and where the hell and highwater swirls ‘round to the knees.
Holed up in our perches in London, New York, and a small town in France, plague up to our necks, we conjure the dead sound to life.
The click clack of the keyboard brings us to worship. The shrieks of slaves and rebels pummeling through.
Our tongues, twisted in the service of Paul Robeson, Lee Moses, Selda Bağcan, et al, slur a call in the darkness.
Algiers is the experimental gospel noise soul pulp response, slurping Francophilia - Gainsbourg and Dutronc, Saint Just and Fanon, Badiou and Baudrillard - Black Power - Nina Simone, Public Enemy, James Baldwin, Fred Hampton, DJ Premier, and Fela Kuti - and Southern Gothic - William Faulkner, Nick Cave, and Flannery O’Connor - into a stew thicker than bourguignon in the Algerian sun.
Algiers is:
Franklin James Fisher - vocals, backing vocals, guitar, bass, cello, double bass, piano, keys, sampling, wurlitzer, tambourine, percussion, drum programming
Ryan Mahan - bass, synths, baritone guitar, guitar, backing vocals, drum programming, samples
Lee Tesche - guitar, prepared guitar, prepared piano, sax, harmonium, synth, music box, tape loops, electric cymbal, backing vocals
Matt Tong - drums, guitar, glockenspiel, drones, chimes, backing vocals
http://algierstheband.com/
https://twitter.com/algiersmusic
https://www.facebook.com/Algierstheband
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2. Algiers - Not so much a country but a place. Algiers are two, spawned from two groups of more, born in Sheffield with roots which extend to Manchester and Middlesbrough.
Both on hiatus from their older musical ventures, John and William enrolled to study at university in Sheffield. A chance meeting in May 2011 led to one rehearsal which turned into 4 months of collaboration.
It would be churlish to say they’ve cherry picked the best parts of post punk pop from the last ten years. What they’ve amalgamated from their influences is something both heady and visceral. A sound that feels weightless and timeless. Reference points are far and wide with some already likening the wandering guitars and heart on sleeve vocals to everyone from Phoenix to Death Cab.
But there’s much more to these two. The ‘Four Priests’ EP is the culmination of a few months in a rehearsal room which now serves notice for something much more ; Bright futures and even brighter melodies.
www.facebook.com/wearealgiers
www.soundcloud.com/wearealgiers
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3. Algiers - is an avant-drone, experimental noise, tape manipulation, occultronics, tape music project started by Levi Berner of Portland, Oregon - USofA, who began recording as Algiers in 2007 with the release of his "Bleak Village" cassette album and Ground Tissues split release.
Berner also works under his own name as well as in or as the projects Witches, Visible/Invisible Wall and the Ratface "Salton Sea" releases in collaboration with the good folks at Basement Tapes.
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Algiers
Irony. Utility. Pretext.
Algiers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just to shoot us down
It's a sound that's systematized
It's a noise just to drown us out
But when your time is come
We'll all be there
Just to watch you fall
And then one by one
You put your vote in a ballot box
This one's marked UNDP
Inscribe your
Tyrant's name in blood
Choice is the guillotine
We'll put our faith in Afro Pop
In a decolonized context
Espouse the aesthetes'
Contempt for ethos
Irony. Utility. Pretext
"Embrace primitive man"
(La-la-la-la-la, you say)
"Destroy primitive man"
(La-la-la-la-la, you say)
"With our art
We'll transcend again"
You put your hand out to shake
Then they export you in chains
You fought
For centuries for change
And they gave you
More of the same
They swapped the dogs
And the cross
For sublimated forestalling
They changed the names
Of the boss
Until you forgot who it was
Find your favorite color
So you can wash it out
In your hymns
Correcting primitive cracks
Into straight lines
Superiority is born again
We'll put our faith in Afro Pop
In a decolonized context
Espouse the aesthetes'
Contempt for ethos
Irony. Utility. Pretext
But all you can say is...
The song "Irony. Utility. Pretext." by Algiers is a searing protest against systemic oppression, colonization, and cultural appropriation. The lyrics critique the ways in which power structures use various tactics to suppress marginalized voices and maintain their control. The song also highlights the role that art and music can play in resisting these systems of oppression and fostering decolonized perspectives.
The opening lines of the song, "They said it's not enough/Just to shoot us down/It's a sound that's systematized/It's a noise just to drown us out," suggest the ways in which oppressive systems use violence, both physical and metaphorical, to silence those who challenge the status quo. The following lines, "But when your time is come/We'll all be there/Just to watch you fall/And then one by one/All the parasites will just fall off," indicate that there will eventually be a reckoning for those in power, and that their control is not as stable as they may believe.
The second verse of the song criticizes the ways in which even seemingly democratic processes, such as voting, can be used as a tool for maintaining control. The line "Choice is the guillotine" suggests that even when given the illusion of a choice, the outcome is still potentially lethal. The lyrics then pivot towards the power of art and music to resist oppressive structures, stating "We'll put our faith in Afro Pop/In a decolonized context/Espouse the aesthetes' contempt for ethos." The final lines of the song, "But all you can say is...", suggest that despite the protests and resistance, those in power are still too deaf to hear the voices of the oppressed.
Overall, "Irony. Utility. Pretext." is a powerful statement against systemic oppression that highlights the importance of resisting oppressive structures and fighting for decolonization through various means, including art and music.
Line by Line Meaning
They said it's not enough
The oppressors claim that simply killing us is not enough to suppress us.
Just to shoot us down
Merely killing us is what they propose.
It's a sound that's systematized
The act of killing has become a routine under their rule.
It's a noise just to drown us out
The sound of killing serves as a distraction from our voices calling for change.
But when your time is come
When the oppressor's time of reckoning arrives.
We'll all be there
We will be there to witness their downfall.
Just to watch you fall
We will take pleasure in seeing the oppressor fall.
And then one by one
And gradually thereafter.
All the parasites will just fall off
All those who benefit from the oppressor's regime will abandon it once it falls.
You put your vote in a ballot box
By voting under a specific system, you believe you can create change.
This one's marked UNDP
This system is the United Nations Development Programme.
Inscribe your Tyrant's name in blood
Writing the name of a tyrant in blood signifies allegiance to them above all else.
Choice is the guillotine
The options presented to us are all destructive in some way.
We'll put our faith in Afro Pop
We will have hope in the power of Afro Pop music to inspire change.
In a decolonized context
This change will occur in a post-colonial society.
Espouse the aesthetes' Contempt for ethos
We reject the prevailing moral values and beliefs of our oppressors.
Irony. Utility. Pretext
We recognize the tactics used by our oppressors and refuse to adhere to them.
"Embrace primitive man" (La-la-la-la-la, you say)
The oppressor mocks us by suggesting we embrace our supposed 'primitive' characteristics.
"Destroy primitive man" (La-la-la-la-la, you say)
The oppressor urges the destruction of those same characteristics.
"With our art We'll transcend again"
We believe in the power of art to rise above and overcome oppression.
You put your hand out to shake
You extend a hand in a gesture of peace.
Then they export you in chains
The oppressor uses this gesture to enslave you.
You fought For centuries for change
We have long been struggling for liberation.
And they gave you More of the same
The oppressor offers only more oppression and exploitation.
They swapped the dogs And the cross
The oppressor has replaced one set of symbols of oppression with another.
For sublimated forestalling
This is their tactic for avoiding real change.
They changed the names Of the boss
They've created an illusion of change by replacing the names of those in power.
Until you forgot who it was
Until it becomes impossible to identify the true source of oppression.
Find your favorite color
Find something to distract you from the reality of oppression.
So you can wash it out
Use this distraction to cleanse yourself of the truth.
In your hymns Correcting primitive cracks
In your songs, you attempt to gloss over the fractures in society.
Into straight lines Superiority is born again
By smoothing over these cracks, we are inadvertently reinforcing the oppressive system.
But all you can say is...
Despite all these tactics, oppression still persists.
Writer(s): Franklin Fisher, Lee Tesche, John Mahan
Contributed by Jason W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jozef Wicks-Sharp
Quotes used in this video and their source:
'The most painful state of being is remembering the future, particularly the one you'll never have' - Søren Kierkegaard
'The road to freedom has always been stalked by death' - Angela Davis
'A nation regenerates itself only upon heaps of corpses' - Louis Antoine de Saint-Just
'History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce' - Karl Marx
'Everything under heaven is in utter chaos, the situation is excellent' - Mao Tse-Tung
'Art is dead, do not consume its corpse. Capital is undead' - Unknown
'Truth is on the side of the oppressed' - Malcolm X
'Peoples do not condemn kings they drop them back into the void' - Maximilien Robespierre
'I am the people. I'm not the pig' - Fred Hampton
'We revolt simply because we can no longer breathe' - Frantz Fanon
Jozef Wicks-Sharp
Quotes used in this video and their source:
'The most painful state of being is remembering the future, particularly the one you'll never have' - Søren Kierkegaard
'The road to freedom has always been stalked by death' - Angela Davis
'A nation regenerates itself only upon heaps of corpses' - Louis Antoine de Saint-Just
'History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce' - Karl Marx
'Everything under heaven is in utter chaos, the situation is excellent' - Mao Tse-Tung
'Art is dead, do not consume its corpse. Capital is undead' - Unknown
'Truth is on the side of the oppressed' - Malcolm X
'Peoples do not condemn kings they drop them back into the void' - Maximilien Robespierre
'I am the people. I'm not the pig' - Fred Hampton
'We revolt simply because we can no longer breathe' - Frantz Fanon
HalfLife(Ger)
Absolutely based
monahpienkosh
thank you so much. the first one, though... just wow. so painful.
HJB
Thanks for that. 1000 times
Sage Collins
this is the most relevant, contemporary, insightful, beautiful, and revolutionary composition I have ever heard in my entire life upto this point.
Bury my heart in Algiers.
Inky Hip
This song evokes an emotion I can't quite grasp. It sounds like a post-apocalyptic totalitarian alien invasion anthem.
h00dboy
Well... the video is filmed in "the flying saucer" of Buzludzha built by the Bulgarian communist party during USSR's existence, so your emotion is quite on the spot.
Martine Lyons
The best music I've heard in 10 years!!!
gal2659
Beat influenced by Afrika Bambaataa's Planet Rock, but what great band Algiers are, realy uniqe sound in todays music, can't wait for their debut. Pitchfork will probably praise it as the new hipster best album, and than they will get the right recognition they deserve to
DazeOfWar
Fantano scored it higher than Pitchfork but never mind the critics. I've never seen artists harness the Soul Sonic Funk to such devastatingly amazing effect until I came across this band! Truly astounding!