The Minimalist Sound Collage of Tallinn’s “At the Freeport” Questions the Inevitability of the Transformation of High Art Into a Form of Currency in Late Capitalism

Tallinn, Varieties of Exile II cover (cropped)

Tallinn is the project of Scott Whittaker who is working on a trilogy of EPs that “deconstruct the jazzy sophistication of soft rock with corroded noise and experimental textures.” That succinct description fits the track “At the Freeport” from Varieties of Exile II EP (out May 25, 2020). The song is like a collage of sound utilizing marimba as both a textural and rhythmic element, what feels like samples of sounds as quick swells of tone and drone (the latter in the form of what sounds like a disintegrating tape of an electronic organ played backward) and lightly phased vocals. The effect is reminiscent of arty post-punk band Shriekback at its most avant-garde. The percussion and impressionistic guitar work ground the song while the other elements seem like blown out ghosts that come in to haunt the song fitting its themes of questioning whether its inevitable that high can become a form of currency in the process of universal commodification under late capitalism. The song doesn’t answer the question but it does provoke contemplating to whom does great art belong and to whom do great do great ideas belong in the end. And one can easily conclude that all of it can and should benefit the greater human community and coming to that realization does that suggest other obvious parallels in how we organize our political and economic lives? That the song can prompt such a string of thought suggests that maybe art can be inherently a method of communicating and inspiring change in a way that transcends a culture that turns all activity into a transactional relationship. Listen to “At the Freeport” on Soundcloud and connect with Tallinn at the links provided.