Politically poignant music & design project ‘Waiting For The Collapse’ is released by Brisbane-based emcee & visual communication designer Jordan McGuire (MC Synergy) just over a month before the Australian Federal Election.
‘Waiting For The Collapse’ a music & design project that includes a 10-track album, an ongoing street art series and a blog about the phenomena of ‘collapse’ with design work and essays interpreting the theme. Jordan explores the audio/visual crossover to offer political critique and challenge societal assumptions in a boundary-pushing first for Australian Hip Hop. Launching on May 27, 2016 with a limited edition LP, ‘Waiting For The Collapse’ comes at an important moment for Australians as the 2016 federal election looms. “The choices we make are critical right now as temperature rise, populations grow and resources dwindle – we need a people who are engaged and a leader who will act urgently for the future of our planet” Jordan writes.
The project was initially conceived in response to what Jordan perceived to be the “overwhelming” signs & symptoms of an imminent (or currently unfolding) “crash” – a collapse in the ecology of the planet and stability of society.
“Rising populations paralleled by the depletion of vital resources, increased food scarcity brought on by human-induced climate change, mass extinctions and a deep disconnection from the natural world – all these things point to the same inevitability, a very uncomfortable inevitability, one that we don’t like to talk about too often” writes Jordan, who believes that we urgently have to talk and act on these issues instead of switching off to them “which is too often our default mode”.
“The younger generations (including mine) have inherited humanity’s greatest existential challenge, but with it has come a digital age so accelerated that it distracts us from engaging with what we face. A lot of my friends—while educated about the issues—are apathetic about them because there’s few readily accessible ways to address them in day-to-day life. I think this is partially because we’ve been brought up to follow the same life-template of our parent’s generation (a lifestyle that the planet can no longer support) and to do something radical about what’s coming would be to admit that this way of life is fundamentally flawed. That kind of against-the-grain thinking can be very draining, especially when it seems like your doing it in isolation, so I think a lot of people just revert to option b – sit back, be comfortable and wait for the collapse like everybody else.”
These kinds of ideas might initially seem at odds with all the common connotations of Australian Hip Hop but social justice & activism have been a big part of the genre since it’s inception, moving people from stasis to action (the most critical junction in affecting positive change). “I’m not pretending this album is some epiphanous revelation or holds any solutions, I’m just presenting my thoughts in a range of mediums that have the potential to inspire. I guess it was my way of engaging-with instead of switching-off-to” adds Jordan.
Jordan McGuire (MC Synergy) is a former member of hip-hop group Tailor Made, co-founder of independent label Rinsed Out Records and a member of a world-renowned, socially focused design studio in Brisbane. Alongside Tailor Made, Synergy has shared the stage with the likes of Dead Prez, Total Eclypse, The Optimen, Daily Meds, Dub Marine and The Coalition Crew to name a few. Their material has been spread to the nation with support from Triple J’s hip hop show, Triple J Unearthed digital radio and independent Brisbane broadcasters 4ZZZ FM.
The ‘Waiting For The Collapse’ LP is out now through Rinsed Out Records and is produced by Albert Enggstein (Tailor Made) with additional production by Renz and Sammsonite (The Optimen). The design & street artwork (including collages, posters, photography and stencils) will unfold as the album is decimated and will culminate in an exhibition (TBA) showcasing the body of work.
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