Billy Chainsaw says: “While re-watching Godard’s Alphaville some years ago, the thematic and visual similarities between the movie and the writings of William S. Burroughs hit me harder than a slug from a.45. The more I investigated the connections, the more apparent they became… until my journey reached a conclusion that resonates in Burroughs’ last ever written words: ‘Love? What is it? Most natural painkiller what there is. LOVE’.
The work of UK artist Billy Chainsaw, the collection of mixed media art delivers a visual cut-up of the work of author William S. Burroughs and director Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 movie Alphaville. Chainsaw’s art sees Burroughs and Alphaville’s male protagonist, Lemmy Caution, move in and out of the fictional cities of Alphaville and Interzone (a location that features heavily in Burroughs’ writings); both conspiring to smash the shackles of control, both in search of love.
1.Love? What is it?
2.Lemmy Caution
3.Inter Alpha Love
4.Bluclear Atmos
5.Most Natural Pain Killer That There Is
6.Destination Interzone
7.Organ Donor
8.Alphabill (Endless Dystopian Visions)
Grand pianos Wurlitzer organs, Tibetan bells, keyboards recorded by Anni Hogan @StudioBlue (4C.H.I.P)
Sound design, synths, mixing and mastering by Martin Bowes @The Cage Studios
Produced by Martin Bowes & Anni Hogan
Pre-production on 3&5 ItchyEar @StudioBlue
Cover image Natural Painkiller by Billy Chainsaw
All tracks Hogan/Bowes
Available now as 24bit wav download and special CDR edition from the official bandcamp site