Lawrence lek - AIDOL (OST) (2020)

Hyperdub are excited to present our first soundtrack release, Lawrence Lek's score for his debut feature film 'AIDOL', which premiered at Sadie Coles HQ in 2019 and has been shown at numerous virtual and physical festivals and exhibitions worldwide..

Lawrence Lek is a simulation artist who uses computer-generated animation and video game engines to create films and virtual worlds that play with the language of science fiction, music videos and corporate world building. He has released soundtracks to five of his previous projects, most recently 'Temple' OST (Vinyl Factory, 2020). 'AIDOL' continues his on-going 'Sinofuturist' cinematic universe, which posits the creative theory that China's technological rise is an emergent form of Artificial Intelligence.

'AIDOL' is a CGI fantasy that tells the story of a fading superstar, Diva, who enlists an aspiring AI songwriter to mount a comeback performance at the 2065 eSports Olympic finale. Set in a realm of spectacular architecture, sentient drones and snow-deluged jungles, 'AIDOL' revolves around the long and evolving struggle between humanity and Artificial Intelligence; a shifting and seductive virtual reality, punctuated by Diva's songs and the voice of Kode9 as the unforgiving label boss.

The soundtrack is a delicate lattice - complex, opaque and entirely synthetic. Diva's yearning vocals - created with a Vocaloid voice synthesiser, sung in English and Mandarin -cast classical melodies over billowing, intricate arrangements. The instrumental tracks, produced with composer Seth Scott, are elegiac and beautiful, hybridising the film score archetype, folding in patterns from game soundtracks, vaporwave, and ambient fourth world music.