A QUICK CHAT WITH PLASTIQ

What have you been up to since the release of your first two singles? 
Moses took 3 months to travel the world in search of artistic inspiration and musical truths. This journey allowed him to activate his imagination and expand his mind to a wealth of artistic possibilities. While Moses traversed the globe seeking enlightenment, Quartz, already operating on an elevated artistic plane, tended to the garden and prepared the fermented cabbage in time for his return. Since coming back and reconnecting, Moses and Quartz Pistol have been busily generating new demos and completing older songs. They have also been pouring a lot of energy and attention into the next music video for Demons. This video will certainly be an impactful statement for the duo, following the success of the previous music video for ‘killer’.
Other projects in the Plastiq HQ pipeline include: An EP release early next year, bespoke merch drops and more live gigs in the works.

Tell us a little bit about this track - how  did it come about?
This track started with a skeleton that Moses had made a couple years prior for another artist. He knew that the synth part in the verses would be a fun launchpad for Abbey to write melody and lyrics to. Once some vocal murmurs and drums were established we both wanted to create some sort of scene change which would be dramatic and contain some chords that you could expect from a band like Queen. This section of the song turned into the chorus of epic proportions which takes us out of this reality (and the musical one that has already been established in the song). As many of Plastiq songs are created, the entirety of the lyrics, arrangement and form were generated in a maddened frenzy. Both Moses and Quartz have a fiery determination to get to the bottom of what the song wants to be and they will chase that dragon as far as they can in one sitting. The more work you can get done in the initial day of the songs conception will help a lot with polishing the finished product. A lackadaisical outro, which is a nod to 60’s exotica, was added to the final third of the song. The whimsy and mystifying mood helps to cleanse the palette and slowly descends the listener into a smoke filled room of wonder and obscurity.

What is the meaning or message behind the song?
Lyrically the song explores a dream-like state or a mushroom trip where the subject explores moving about the world without fear, feeling connected to and held tightly in the bosom of all biological life. The track speaks to the constant search for meaning in the battlefield (metaphorical and actual for some) of existence. The verses are playful and speak of a character hop-scotching across a mossy rainforest floor, facing inner ‘demons’ and accepting them as lessons all whilst letting intuition and child-like wonder guide them. Quartz wanted to capture the serendipitous connection of dots that happens in an altered state of mind or in a dream. These states allow for meaning or divinity to be found, distracting us from the terrors of the world that can be all consuming. The subconscious knows all of our truths and when we go “in” we find the natural world is there to ground us and guide us - godly shit!

You’ve had some exciting shows including the exhibition with CAPITAL WASTE and the NGV show can you tell us a bit about that?
We were thrilled with the outcome and reception of the ‘UNIVERSAL KILLER’ exhibition at Light ADL. This was a visual extension of the Plastiq world created for our debut release ‘killer’. A 14 minute video loop (an expansion of the music video created by CAPITAL WASTE) presents the amazing hyper-glossy and desolate landscape with a score composed by our very own Moses Carr. In DIY fashion, CAPITAL WASTE adopts photogrammetry, virtual production and video to motion data AI. The piece is displayed on a huge snaking screen as well as stills from the world printed on metallic paper. The music video is made using Unreal Engine thus allowing it to function as a VR piece or video game.

Our performance at the NGV in September saw Plastiq in final form.  This was our first performance with CAPITAL WASTE implementing real-time VR visuals in the ‘killer’ music video world. The magnitude of the new songs and thumping beats in conjunction with the grand hall and epic light display created an enthralling performance for the audience. We wanted to create a set that shows the whole spectrum of our work, everything from the tender vocal and synth accompaniment to the full-on undulating beats with processed vocals. 

You have quite an impressive look and stage presence can you share the concept or direction behind that?
Three new costumes were created by Quartz which included a black shiny arthropod exoskeleton puffer jacket (with dazzling cape), a white & ice blue tulle dress (with captivating geometry jumping away from the body) and a puffed black shoulder pad leech for CAPITAL WASTE. As our shows get bigger so does the visual production and costume design. We embrace theatrics to create signature otherworldly escapism. Given the state of the world, we feel it’s more important than ever to generate a space for our audience to experience wonder and awe for a brief moment. We work with tangible and digital assets to bring dimension and dynamic to our movement on stage. 

Now take us into the visual world of Demons:
We are deeply fascinated with how we as humans interface with the multiple channels of realities in the world. Each of us have a nuanced and appropriate personality profile for each outlet. Our instagram self, our email self, our professional work persona, our family self etc.
We wanted to explore the idea of meeting a digital version of ourselves in the music video and being forcibly teleported into their world. We see two human emotions play out  that might occur in this convergence - fear of the unknown or acceptance. In keeping with the tone of the ‘killer’’ world and embracing CAPITAL WASTE’s strengths as a cinematographer and digital artist, we allow the two worlds to collide. Utilising photogrammetry and convergent technologies we created a city scape to contrast footage of the physical space. By using DIY virtual production we were able to “gamify” the production method by building and filming in Unreal Engine.

What are the plans for 2024?

We are in the process of finalising an EP of recent works and demos that will come out early 2024. This collates all the ‘early work’ and closes our first chapter as a project. 

The second chapter of Plastiq (the development) is a full body of work in the shape of a concept album and an accompanying book of short stories. This product will be shining a light on the lore of Plastiq and its genesis.

Develop and Tour our live show - We are developing the live show and expanding on our iconic costumes and visuals. We want to explore the possibilities of using screens and projections on three-D objects and the use of AR (Altered Reality) technologies. Working with inflatable props, infinity screens and structural costumes to create dimension and out of this world realities on stage. 

Create unique merchandise - We are excited to work with Quartz Pistols fabrication skills and other local artists on creating unique merchandise. A tangible piece of Plastiq that our fans can take home. They will all be installed with a distress beacon that sets off when you are feeling uninspired ensuring that capitalism doesn’t destroy your creativity and playfulness. We launching our new range of tupperware “Plastiq Purses”. Now customers can “seal the deal”, create the vacuum they have always dreamed of. Our point of difference is that we have installed tracking devices on all of our tupperwares lids so you will never be hatless again! This month we are offering a premium special for our most devoted customers with a “buy one get fun free”special. Limited time only, made with Plastiq’s unique formula of plastic patented in 2023 with an eternal lifetime guarantee - this shit will never break down! never ! not ever. That’s an eternity of freshness.