Premiere: Lambda Celsius unveils Video for Synthbop “Beauty of Indifference”

Arts

Feb 19

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As a queer treasure based in Athens, GA, artiste auteur AC Carter is one of the most active creatives working on a plethora of musical, visual and fashion compositions in the Southeastern indie circuit today. Their musical project Lambda Celsius, otherwise known as Λ°C, is light years beyond the same old troves of indie bands that hail from Athens proper. Λ°C encompasses the rich inner workings of the artist’s exploration in a cult of personalities as one dynamic and high-key imaginative electronic opus. Lambda Celsius’s newest video “Beauty of Indifference” displays the passion in which AC Carter fully immerses into their luminous pop persona a la energetic live performance. The video meshes a performance from Video Tronic’s Intrusive Thots at Caledonia Lounge with an interesting duality: another split persona, brought to life by Caleb Craig, interspersed throughout the video like a yo-yo, fluidly shifting between the two environments and artists, chaotically gaining momentum.

As separate yet same entities slightly mirrored in different spaces, and metamorphosing in costume changes, the commentary is not overt but nonetheless stirring and emotive. “I was thinking about confusing gender identity for the two characters, where both are supposed to be read as embodying the same person. Caleb performs alone without the crowd, a private sphere, while I am performing live in drag to my own tunes,” the non-binary artist explains. “I was interested in confusing gender identity, the interplay of public versus private, the live versus the lip-sync, and the agency of self expression.” The filming itself required action for both a physical audience and for the screen, the camera and lighting creating a virtual public space. The camera becomes its own character in the choreography, assisted by Kira Hynes and SaBo (who also acted as MUA). Not only did Gabriella Andino choreograph both AC and Caleb's movements but they coordinated the routine with the cameras as well.

The spirited theatrics of Λ°C has garnered them opening acts with John Maus, tours throughout the Southeast and collaborations with many worthy colleagues. Their musical set-up is beyond madcap yet also ensures this seemingly one-person act is self-sustainable and at ease to travel to and fro for house shows and punk venues around the larger cities in the region. Stationed on an ironing board nonetheless, there is symbolism in the set-up itself, as explained: “Amazon’s Alexa is the DJ, Siri is the unmistakably important but under-represented wifi-wizard and band manager, and the main driving force that allows for amplification of the my voice, Richard, oh I mean, Dick… the microphone. It’s both a full and empty orchestra you could say.”

“Beauty of Indifference” is a main motif from the album Ana Echo and the Beauty of Indifference, which released in 2018, and is available on Spotify and Bandcamp. Upcoming performances include March 5th with Molly Nilsson at Caledonia Lounge (Athens), March 8th at Drkmttr (Nashville) alongside Deeper and Pool Holograph (CHI), and March 14-15 at Jackalope with Banana Tapes for an unofficial SXSW group of performances.

Check out WUSSY Vol. 6 for a more in-depth interview and history of this rising artist.

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