This much is obvious about E.W. Harris: He’s a sucker for science fiction. “‘Sooner Or Later’ is perhaps one of the purest direct byproducts of this love,” says the Brooklyn-based mixed-media artist about his latest single. “For some reason, after listening to Gary Numan’s ‘Are “Friends” Electric?’ during lockdown, I got the idea to binge watch Spielberg’s 2001 classic AI on repeat with the sound turned off.”
Rather than geek out in complete silence, Harris chose the Cure’s Greatest Hits as a makeshift soundtrack. “About the third go-round, I got fixated on Jude Law’s character, Gigolo Joe, and began to write,” he says.
And out came “Sooner Or Later,” one of six wildly imaginative goth-folk vignettes on the upcoming Machine Living In Relief. Set for release March 28, it’s yet another installment in an ongoing series set in Rocket City, basically Harris’ post-apocalyptic fusion of Narnia and Blade Runner’s Los Angeles.
“I’m preoccupied with jobs and the unique perspectives they impart to individuals, vis-à-vis society at large,” says Harris of “Sooner Or Later.” “I started thinking, ‘OK, a human-formatted artificial person is already kind of interesting. Add sex worker—and the stigma, sensitivity and human interaction on top of that—and this character becomes wildly interesting.’ I wanted to focus on a character where intrinsic humanness isn’t a given. What then? How intrinsic is our own humanity? Is identity just the backflow of data from interacting in the world? What are our connections with others, really? Suffice it to say, I find these things pretty fun to think about—or maybe compelling is a better word.”
Production wise, “Sooner Or Later” was pretty straightforward. “The guitalele does most of the heavy lifting, with light accompaniment from a Speak & Spell, guitar, banjo, toy accordion and bass,” says Harris. “This was a good way to introduce the record, as the squirrely arrangements and idiosyncratic sounds presented here kind of give us a clear taste of what’s to follow.”
We’re proud to premiere E.W. Harris’ “Sooner Or Later.”
—Hobart Rowland
