The “respawn” Video Single by bensnburner is a Haunting Embodiment of the Game Concept as Manifested in Song

bensburner1_crop — bensnburner logo (cropped)

A montage of what appears to be a passing bus in reverse and then I forward motion is the backdrop of “respawn,” the first single from bensnburner’s forthcoming album. The low textural drone flowing along with a cycling background melodic drone convey a dream-like energy as guitar strikes fractured and drawn out riffing and distorted synth winds warble and whorl. It’s reminiscent of the film Koyaanisqatsi in how the music and the footage are synergistic in highlighting how mysterious and alien every day, seemingly mundane events can be unless we truly pull back and examine what it is that’s really going on if we’re able and willing to strip it of the cultural knowledge and assumptions that give them the meaning suggested and programmed by cultural context. The concept of “respawning” in a video game is to die in game and then come back to life at a beginning point and to, in a way, to start over, have another chance to approach things from another angle or to make the same fatal mistakes all over again but without the consequences of actual death. The motion of the video and the recursive structure of the song is sort of an embodiment of respawning in musical form but with the iterations evolving as one hopes one would in a game setting. Watch the video below and follow bensnburner at the links provided.