the real ok boomer - Consume. Be Silent. Die. EP (direct link)

About six years ago, I posted a piece on Single Gun Theory, a prolific and innovative Australian electronic band which, during its fifteen-year active life (from 1986 to 2001), had some fairly popular releases, including two Top Fifty albums in Oz. But by the time I wrote about them, more than ten years after their dissolution, I noted that the group seemed to have been all but forgotten, both by its former recording label and by turn-of-the-century electronic/dance music fans... which was a pity.

So I was very happy and surprised to receive a message yesterday from Peter Rivett-Carnac, former sample master and multi-instrumentalist for Single Gun Theory. Seems that Mr. Rivett-Carnac hasn't been sitting still since his former band's demise (I'll correct myself here now, and note that the group - comprised of vocalist Jacqui Hunt, Kath Power on background vocals and synthesizer, and Rivett-Carnac - never officially broke up; it's more like the members just sort of drifted apart into other interests). Peter got married and moved to Singapore in the early 2000s, where he and his wife raised two daughters. But he remained active in music while there, writing songs and handling production duties for less-heralded electronic groups like The Gaza Strip and Joyless. And just recently, he began releasing his own music, under the nom de plume the real ok boomer.

Here's the email message I received from him:

"Hey, I noticed a nice post in your blog about Single Gun Theory from a few years ago.  I’m one of the co-founders of SGT, and I’ve just launched my first-ever solo project, so I thought you might be interested in it (yes, shameless self-promotion). :)

My attempt at a press release is below - I hope it’s helpful."

Along with his note came the attached 'presser':

Pete Carnac from Single Gun Theory has just released his first EP under the artist name "the real ok boomer”. 

It's cheerily titled Consume. Be Silent. Die., and is mostly downtempo / lo-fi / chill-hop, with female vocals, some anti-war politics and a dash of metaphysical mumbo-jumbo.

Electric Sound Of Joy calls it “an ambient, swirling, sample-laden delight”.

I hope you get a chance to listen! Please contact pete@therealokboomer.com if you’d like more information.

I had a listen to the tracks Peter put up on his Soundcloud site (located here), including "Signal" and "Com Truise - Persuasion System", and was pleased with what I heard there.  Rivett-Carnac has moved far beyond what he was laying down with SGT two decades ago, into a more ambient, mellow groove that still harkens back in some ways to the sound of his former band.  What's interesting is that in some of these tunes, like "Engage" and "Mockingbird", he couples these beats with some highly politicized sample vocals.  The combination is both hypnotic and thought-provoking... at least to me.

Here's the video for "Signal", the leadoff track from this EP and probably my favorite song so far off of it:

I am always surprised and excited when I find that an artist I post about has taken the time to read my longwinded screeds and respond in kind; it's happened a couple of times in the past, with the late Chris Sheehan (The Starlings) and members of The Veldt.  I'm glad to see that Peter also saw that there are still music fans around who enjoyed and appreciated his old band.  And in that spirit, I hope that you SGT fans out there take the opportunity to listen to what Peter has been up to recently.  I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Here's the Soundcloud link again for Consume. Be Silent. Die. EP and other non-EP tracks; go to it and feast your ears on these offerings... and as always, let Mr. Rivett-Carnac and I know what you think.

(As a bonus, here's a great interview that Peter and Jacqui gave to Chaos Control Digizine back in 2016, discussing their time in Single Gun Theory, their thoughts regarding the current state of electronic music, and then-recent projects they're both working on - good information within!)