Boy Harsher, the Northampton-based duo of vocalist/lyricist Jae Matthews and producer Augustus Muller, have shared a third and final pre-release single from their forthcoming album The Runner (Original Soundtrack), out on January 21st, 2022 via Nude Club/City Slang.
“Machina” is a HI-NRG homage performed by Mariana Saldaña of Boan, sung in both Spanish and English. In her lyrics, Saldaña describes a cold, sterile entity, the Machine, that is soulless and without a heartbeat. The cryptic message repeats throughout the song – “I can’t spend tonight with you, I can’t dance with you, I can’t end my night with you, I can’t feel your heart beat too.” The implication is that contemporary obsession with the “Machina” is a lonely reality. The content is dark and intentionally witty: who are you going to dance with, when the machine is your only companion?
Muller marks his time spent in Mexico City, at the renowned dance club Patrick Miller, as sonic inspiration: “I was reminiscing about Friday nights at Patrick Miller. I was trying to create an artefact from a club in a far off place and an unknown time. Mariana and I were sending each other old freestyle and Hi NRG videos and just having fun.”
The electrifying self-directed video produced by Muted Widows comes from the world of The Runner, presented as an exclusive NUDE TV studio performance by Saldaña.
Listen to “Machina ft. Ms BOAN – Mariana Saldaña” and watch the video for it below: