Nothing says "Hey Britain, we fucked ya!" quite like 'The Star-Spangled Banner', the colonial era's answer to the drive-by mooning. Released just in time for Independence Day, Fatima Al Qadiri's liquid nitrogen re-working of the national hymn for the Adult Swim channel is a pointed statement from the artist; a sinister détournement that drains the anthem of its quasi-religious triumphalism, and replaces it with a moral ambiguity. However you look at it, though, subversion is rarely this gorgeous.Al Qadiri spent a period of her childhood playing Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf, so if this re-working is any indicator, the experience has left a deep impression on her style. On the one hand, the track speaks of bystander guilt, and of her discomfort with the imperialist crusade (notice the oil-black pressure drop the track concludes with), whilst the track's celestial aura serves to further mythologize the mother of all American icons: its theme song. Either way, this is some interesting music-making: like Eno by way of Vatican Shadow.You can stream the track in full below, and read our interview with Al Qadiri about her stunning debut album Asiatisch here.
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