Future Shock by Seth Knappen

"Future Shock" expresses the idea that we are all suffering from the effects of “too much change in too short a period of time.” Curtis Mayfield explored the idea with his 1973 song, “Future Shock,” and Herbie Hancock revisited it with his tech-infused album of the same name in 1983. The pace of change seems to be increasing every day, with the old constantly dissolving while the new struggles to be born. And so today I humbly offer my own musical expression of our uniquely contemporary experience of FUTURE SHOCK.

Written and recorded in a month, Future Shock is a mostly instrumental album where the lead guitar elements providing the melodic and emotional core often associated with vocals and lyrics. The guitar sings these songs! Although my work doesn’t often feature a lot of lead work, I began playing guitar at the age of 9 and grew up learning to play along with guitar heroes like Steve Vai and David Gilmour. I like to think that over the years I have developed a style and voice of my own as a player, and this album serves as a feature for this aspect of my musical life. I also grew up playing synthesizers, after my mom brought home a Juno 60 in 1983, when I was already a musically inclined six year old. And so I leaned into these skills to create the complex sonic backdrops of that a representation of Future Shock requires.

The recording is digital, but most of what you hear is performed using live instruments. From guitar to bass to keys and synths, the album is a statement piece for my own multi-instrumentalism, which I use to provide an experienced sense of the unexpected changes and variations that form the basis of the future shock experience. Always in service of the song, I hope that you can find “me” - as both a composer and a player - within these shifting textures and styles. As a work of art, I hope that you find the album to be a worthy companion on your own struggles through these harsh times, full of passion, comfort, and heat.

Today the ground shifts under our feet at every turn, with a growing sense that we might not have any idea what comes for us around the corner. We are at times frightened, delighted, confused, and amused. As a work of sound painting, it is my hope that the listener can encounter this disorientation playfully, with the senses and mind engaged. Fully alive. Full of grace and love. The more inhuman our world becomes, the more human we must be. There is no other way. So spend some time with Future Shock and have a human experience today! We need you.

Music Shaper Meaning Maker
Sound Painter