Lifeforms Era

CREATIVE DIRECTION: BRANDON RIKE + JOEL COOK
DESIGN: BRANDON RIKE
PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO DIRECTOR: CALEB MALLERY
VISUALIZER: NATE UTESCH
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LABEL: RISE RECORDS
MANAGEMENT: VELVET HAMMER

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AVA
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Advances in technology have rapidly accelerated global abilities for contact, yet have had a reverse effect upon human connection. In this instance, contact and connection are not synonymous. Instead, the two act as polar opposites, and inversely affect one another. While our technological capability to contact grows, our ability to deeply connect decreases. These diminishing returns have resulted in a profoundly negative effect on our own self-worth, as we feel more empty than ever, even with our newfound abilities of unending access. We can now meticulously curate our own image, yet lose the ability to let anyone in deeper.

Love is different now. While our own personal algorithms may appear to be compatible, those algorithms do not account for the human variables that we all possess. We are left alone to deal with our own personal variables, and tend to not disclose them to the world.

So our new search, then, must be for beings devoid of these filters. We must reacquaint ourselves with our own original analog form, prioritize it over our digital self, and find tangible lifeforms that can connect with our own humanity. While technology has been able to effectively pinpoint our interests, it shall always fall short on providing us with robust and deep human connection. Such connection must be sought without technological interference in order to achieve the depth that our barren human souls seek.

REBEL GIRL VISUALIZER

AVA MERCH