Colatura’s single “R U Content” mixes the gritty and granular sound texture with ethereal and introspective tones in an expansive dynamic that the trio augments with bends and accents. The result is a song that has a simple appeal but a great deal of variation that suits well the subject of the song which is the commodification of our lives in a very mediated age when most people with a modern phone or computer is on social media with the lure of instant, low rent gratification of engagement from friends, acquaintances and strangers. It’s not really living but the illusion, the projection of life. And that projection, the superficial data of our lives that we share knowingly or otherwise, is monetized and becomes part of a mass feedback loop and in another era would have been described in a way parallel to that of a psyop. The chorus of “Are you content, or are you just content, there’s no way of knowing, what are we doing?” speaks so well to a fairly sophisticated assessment to where so much of the culture is now in trusting large tech companies with the building blocks of our identity and allowing ourselves to be manipulated in ways we don’t full understand. The proof is in how conspiracy theories have spread in social media and how the algorithm can be set to prioritize content that is the opposite of what you might actually believe or need to see. And that question I the chorus of are we content as in satisfied with the situation as it is and can we consent for our lives to be content without compensation? Would we want it to be a product even if we could be compensated? Maybe if you’re an influencer you say yes but it has to be a bummer for anyone at some point. Colatura’s music is appealing in a broad sense of it being somewhere in the realm of shoegaze but with this song it’s like an experimental pop song in aim and execution. Watch the video for “R U Content” on YouTube and connect with Colatura at the links below.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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