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Pressure Pin Drops New EP and Frenetic Video Single “Polyurethane”
Kenny Smith’s solo project continues to push the limits of art-punk with a chaotic new visual directed by Dirt and Daydream.
by Stephan Boissonneault
Photo by Aabid Youssef
- Published on
Synthetic manipulation, speedy fractured tempos, hair-brained lyrics about modern urban decay — sounds like Pressure Pin to us. It’s been two years since Kenny Smith (drummer of La Sécurité) debuted his eggy/art-punk solo project with the EP Superficial Feature, but his frenetic influence has been felt in waves ever since.
The potent follow-up EP, Polyurethane, feels more sonically refined while also staying true to the batshit and jagged hyper-punk excerpts that we’ve grown to expect from Smith. There’s even a bit of a freak jazz saxophone solo on the track “Negative Impression.” Pressure Pin is the only artist who could scream a line like “Crushed inside a trash compactor / dying wish to turn into a cube,” like it was commonplace. In Smith’s world, nothing is normal — it’s all a buzzing fever dream of epic proportions.
The EP’s lead single and title track “Polyurethane” also comes with a wild music video featuring rabid clones of Smith that terrorize him before he finds himself trapped in a bizarro birthday party. Directors Elizabeth Martineau, and Charles-Omier Roy — who create under the moniker Dirt and Daydream — wanted to create a “mechanical aesthetic, featuring characters whose traits appear stiff and disembodied, almost inhuman” while also saying the video was inspired by groups like Devo, Kraftwerk, and Gary Numan.
RANGE sat down with Smith to chat about the new Polyurethane EP, his artistic “jigsaw” process, and why he loves frantic music.
What the hell is going on in that music video? Are those multiple versions of yourself?
KS: Totally up for interpretation, I suppose. It only makes sense that an EP played almost entirely by myself would be represented by a video acted in the same manner. Or does it? It’s a party, and everyone’s invited (held against their will and forced to mime to the same 20 seconds of the title track over and over).
What is “egg punk” in your own words?
KS: Seems to be an internet inside joke that went too far. I think there’s a basic style of punk that uses tape speed variations/synth leads that can be associated with the term. But these days, I feel like any punk-adjacent music that’s using unusual sonic textures gets lumped in with the genre.
What is your lyrical style? Sometimes I feel like I’m listening to a sardonic poly-sci textbook or something while weirdo punk plays in the background.
I couldn’t tell you. Songs like these don’t really lend themselves to a cohesive style, you just have to try out different syllables and cadences every time and hope that the words will fit a theme. If I can’t get all the words to fit a theme, then I’ll typically throw in a few absurd/gross-out lyrics to distract you from my poor writing skills. Works every time.
What frustrates you?
KS: Creatively: it’s extremely hard to write and record music when you’re just one person. You’ll inevitably end up repeating chord progressions, fills, lyrics, because almost no one has a wide enough musical vocabulary to be consistently original on four to five instruments. This is partially why the songwriting process can take me forever. The music industry is all about being as prolific as possible right now, with a “content-farm” approach to promotion so it makes it very difficult to stay on the wagon. Socially: not enough people talking about Pressure Pin and Pressure Pin-related causes.
You’re always dressed to impress at your shows, and even just walking on the street. Is fashion important to you and your creativity?
KS: To me, music is a package deal. Many visual components of music vastly increase the artistic value. The image of the artist/music’s relation to fashion is a contentious one, but (maybe subconsciously), I think most people prefer if an artist they like matches the presentation they like. Putting on a weird outfit helps me settle into whatever musical “universe” I’m trying to harness. There’s nothing inspiring about my work/everyday clothes. They just make me feel deflated and sad.
The music you make with Pressure Pin is often very frantic, if not a bit anxiety-inducing. Would you say that’s purposeful?
KS: Personally, I like a bit of discomfort in music, maybe because that reflects real life more accurately. I also like a bit of idealism from time to time but I’d really rather not pretend that we’re all living in a perfect world. I can’t listen to music that glorifies “the escape” too much, I find it kind of sickening and dystopian. Most people who listen to “punk rock” are probably looking for something much the same in their art.
What is your songwriting process like? I feel like the overdubs with your music kind of come in bursts.
KS: The songwriting process is usually a stop-and-start editing process with 10-15 second chunks of guitar on a DAW. Then you just listen back to the whole thing and see if the jigsaw puzzle fits together. Add leads, drums, and then lyrics. This is pretty untraditional and I don’t know if I’ll do it like this forever, but you definitely get some bizarre results.
What has changed since the release of Superficial Feature up until Polyurethane?
KS: Musically speaking, an attempt has been made to lengthen song structures and add more dynamic transitions. I’ve tweaked the tones on nearly every instrument. I think everything sits in the mix a little bit better than before and overall, it makes for a more engaging listen than the first EP.
Anything you’d like to add, say, or get off your chest?
KS: Kids, eat your greens. Or you’ll end up like me!
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