AUS!Funkt – Queen City Sounds and Art

AUS!Funkt’s “Follow the Impulse to Insanity (Black and White)” is Subversive, Anti-Authoritarian, Krautrock Disco

The motorik beats of “Follow the Impulse to Insanity (Black and White)” by AUS!Funkt accented by the fluid bass line are like a guide out of the straight jacket of late capitalist, technocratic control over too much of our lives. The vocals nearly whisper in the first half of the song but echo in near hysteria in the second half as though shaking off the “logic” of conforming to the dictates of “pure” economic decision making that isn’t done for the benefit of real humans but of a system that is designed to funnel the goods of society upward rather than distribute them in even a rational way that would ensure the well being of civilization. The sound of the song as it gets noisier and more psychedelic is a rebellion against your conditioning to go along with something bad for you. The title of the song spells that out and suggests that maybe “insanity” or the awakening to the “irrationality” of wanting to live as a human with the analog “flaws” and emotional responses to situations intact. The chorus of “I can’t accept these new conditions” speaks directly to how in corporate controlled environments parameters are changed regularly often to maximize your your use of time and demand increasingly more until you can give nothing else. The song is anti-authoritarian krautrock disco at its finest. Listen to “Follow the Impulse to Insanity (Black and White)” on Spotify and follow AUS!Funkt at the links below.

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AUS!Funkt’s Industrial Electroclash Single “C’est Parfait” is Dance Song Against Technocratic Fascism

AUS!Funkt’s “C’est Parfait!” is pulsing with an urgent, motorik beat and rich, retro synth tones. But its message is very much of the moment. It’s anti-grinding culture and succumbing to the constant pressure from capitalist culture to be more and more “efficient” and serve the demands of an inhuman system that cares more about endless growth regardless of the cost to actual, living beings. The sheer urgency of the song is easy to get caught up within but it also opens up to an expansive and spacious middle section that is much less in forward momentum and clearly a part of the point of the song with the more intense sections being a model for a rebellious will to break down the infernal machine of the current time. It’s a dance song against technocratic fascism through inspiring movement for the sheer joy of it rather than at the behest of some economic dictate. Listen to “C’est Parfait” on Spotify and follow AUS!Funkt at the links below. The Canadian group’s new album Rewire The Damage released April 25, 2025.

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AUS!Funkt on Instagram

AUS!Funkt on Bandcamp

AUS!Funkt’s “Reincarnation Blues” is an Industrial Punk Song About the Constant Need For Reinvention in the Work of Resistance

AUS!Funkt’s “Reincarnation Blues” is pulsing with driving industrial punk sounds befitting its themes of constantly needing to reinvent and revisit the ideas and practices of resistance because the forces of oppression adapt and appropriate language and symbols as well. When the wild sax riff comes in over the steady electronic drums it’s like the surprise element that pushes the deadpan vocals into clearer focus which being part of the messaging itself of throwing in fun surprises to switch up the dynamic. The animated music video is a Dada-esque collage of imagery subverting gender representation and blurring the lines between human and machine, a gallery of eyes surrounding the figure in the foreground with its head replaced by one of those eyes in moments. The lyrics mention how there’s always something better coming up and something ending and it’s best to roll with the changes to keep ahead of the forces of repression even if it can get occasionally get tiring having to regularly reinvent oneself and one’s outlook. It’s a song against getting too comfortable. Watch the video for “Reincarnation Blues” on YouTube and follow Canada’s AUS!Funkt at the links below.

AUS!Funkt on Facebook

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AUS!Funkt’s Art Garage Funk Punk Single “That’s a Fact” is an Exhilarating Anthem Against Xenophobia, Fascism, Racism and Misogyny

AUS!Funkt sound like a futuristic garage rock band on the noisy and discordant funk punk of “That’s a Fact.” In the music video the four figures representing the band look like The Residents gone cyberpunk anti-authoritarian gang, appropriate to the subject of the song. Pulsing, seething, distorted synth over urgent guitar and an almost hypnotically steady beat are the back drop to lines like “I don’t want to stop and reflect, xenophobia’s real that’s a fact, I never know what to expect, racism kills, that’s a fact, social norms we need to reject, misogyny hurts, that’s a fact, I have a need to disaffect, fascism kills, that’s a fact.” Indubitably. The song sounds frantic and emphatic on those points and even with the breakdown section mid-song for a breather with a repeat of the lyrics, the Canadian band leaves us with no doubt about its intentions and the kind of presentation of these truths that we’ve been needing to remember for decades but the immediacy of which is more than looming on the horizon at this moment. AUS!Funkt’s song, the title track to its December 22, 2023 EP, doesn’t overcomplicate the messaging nor simplifies a complex set of issues, it simply states some core principles with clarity and sets it to exhilarating and exciting art punk. Watch the video for “That’s a Fact” on YouTube and follow AUS!Funkt at the links provided.

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AUS!Funkt Challenges Us to Choose Engagement in Life Over Wallowing in Jaded Acceptance of a Diminished World on “Turn To Rust”

A figure that looks corroded by life walks through the neon/LED sign and street light illuminated streets of a major city, at times at a casual stroll and then with more urgency, looking over his shoulder. What is this scene about in the music video for AUS!Funkt’s video for “Turn To Rust”? The industrial disco beat and the hushed vocals with the lightly distorted bass line is reminiscent of Nicolás Jaar’s “Space is Only Noise.” Except that this song has a more exuberant melody that gives an uplift at key points even though the lyrics seem to be about feeling eroded by the demands and travails of life and a world that seems to be falling into a similar level of disrepair and disuse. And the challenge to do something about it or any other aspect of life or just succumb to crumbling to rust and “Gathering dust.” The simple drive of the song suggests a favorable choice without spelling that out. Watch the Chris Cunningham-esque music video for “Turn To Rust,” the title track from AUS!Funkt’s new album, on YouTube and follow the Toronto-based post-punk band at the links provided.