Coatcheck by Florian T M Zeisig

The artist’s menial employment at a nightclub is explored in his third solo release, Coatcheck. In it, Zeisig carves a series of surreal apertures for viewing the club’s framework of workplace behavior and patron expectation. These viewpoints are so immersed and encoded in the physical and economic structures of the club that they sound far removed, or completely distinct—marking the realities of wage laborers who enable the necessary but still fantastical “escape” from capitalist drudgery.

The record presents different atmospheres and acoustics of the club—a place where people go to escape their working lives and release their inhibitions—from the perspective of a person working there. Functioning as a conceptual map of the space, each track on the album follows a different location of the building, activity, and mood of the worker. Instead of thundering beats and whirling debauchery, the artist yields the sounds of structures hidden from view but necessary to the production of public space.

The album is a meditation on the contradiction inherent in supposedly free and progressive spaces, which are in many ways the same as any capitalist institution in terms of what’s experienced by their menial workers and marginalized attendees. In an attempt to provide an auditory and psychic balm to the listener in recognition of this fact, Zeisig draws upon his extensive research and practice of ASMR phenomena during the recording process. A cultural sonic development that is located most often in the privacy of one’s home and head, such techniques are explored as a means of challenging the rules and arrangements that guide the club.

All proceeds go to Women In Exile, a Berlin-based organization dedicated to helping women and families seeking refugee status and resettlement in Germany.

Florian T M Zeisig holds a master’s degree in sound arts from Universität der Künste Berlinand, and is a current excellence student of Alva Noto. His solo and collaborative work as half of the duo OCA has been released by labels such as Important Records/Cassauna, Anòmia, Constellation Tatsu and Métron Records. Recent collaborations include a feature on Kelela’s Aquaphoria mixtape and a remix for Loraine James. He has presented installation and performance work at institutions such as Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Cafe OTO, and Hangar Barcelona, amongst others.

§ focused on contemporary sound and growth
✔ hand-constructed out of recycled materials as possible
♥ all proceeds to positive endeavors

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