VA - Utopia or Oblivion (2023)

‘Whether it is to be Utopia or Oblivion will be a touch-and-go relay race right up to the final moment. Humanity is in a final exam as to whether or not it might qualify for continuance in the Universe.’

Constructive is pleased to announce, ‘Utopia Or Oblivion’, a new compilation featuring ten artists inspired by the pioneering work of R. Buckminster Fuller, with each track made in response to Fuller’s corresponding essays ‘Utopia Or Oblivion’, first published in 1963. Encompassing contributions from international artists, ‘Utopia Or Oblivion’ represents a diverse dialogue with the enterprising ideas of R. Buckminster Fuller, fittingly produced according to an inclusive remit.
From the irregular glitch pop scintillation of ‘How Would I Be? What Would I Do’ by German artist & founding member of To Rococo Rot, Robert Lippok, to the heartfelt ambient and seraphic voices of ‘Afterimage’ by Japanese artist Tujiko Noriko (Editions Mego, PAN, Room40), through to the tensile, eruptive, dub-contoured emittances of ‘Tensegrity Rhythms’ by Peruvian experimental composer Ale Hop (Karlrecords) – its title a specific reference to a structural principal conceived by Fuller – ‘Utopia Or Oblivion’ ranges in scope yet moves cohesively through dynamic modes of experimentation and musicality.
Elsewhere, there are appearances from the Bafta-nominated composer Adam Janota Bzowski (Saint Maud OST), musician & Constructive co-founder Adrian Corker, London-based experimentalist No Home, Italian artist & NTS Radio resident Silvia Kastel (Blackest Ever Black, Palto Flats, Youth), British sound artist David Prior, and a unique collaboration between the British DIY experimental musician Richard Skelton & Corey Fuller, a descendant of R. Buckminster Fuller.
In addition to the release of ‘Utopia Or Oblivion’, Constructive will publish a website which will serve as a focal point for a series of essays, articles, artworks, and information resources, derived from the same expansive brief offered to the musicians. An interdisciplinary home for the development of further ideas, continued exchange, and the dissemination of Fuller’s prescient theories and philosophies.