Year in Pop: 2016

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Fusilier

Fusilier, aka Blake Fusilier; photographed by Chris Oquist.

Fusilier, aka Blake Fusilier; photographed by Chris Oquist.

Fusilier, also known as Blake Fusilier formerly of RIBS follows up the recent video for “The Moment” of gender fluidity & revolution with the premiere of the single, “Make You” available now from Brassland. The former bassist, now bandleader Fusilier described to us the musical mission statement of “Make You” and it’s visions of wonder and excitement. “My vision is Nine Inch Nails meets James Brown,” Fusilier explained in comparative terms. “When I say that to friends to describe ‘Make You’ the mixture of wonder and excitement they show is the exact feeling I want to cultivate. I think one of the major duties of any artist is to expand the realm of the possible—to stimulate the imagination of the masses.”

“Make You” straps you on for a boat ride into the uncharted channels, watery bunkers, and utilidor corridors of the unknown on the dare of your life. The challenge is beyond the think differently tired-cache of cliches but rather the courses of action involved with taking the less travel paths sung about constantly by society (that would rather sling back into the apathetic arms of sticking within the parameters of comfort zones). Fusilier takes the routes of the abandoned industrial exclusion zones in search of possibilities, the raw wreckage wastelands that humankind leaves behind that break out of blinders of status-quo conformity to ponder things like the long term effects of actions now and the impact that has on future possibilities. Blake brings this in a ferocity of post-apocalyptic stripped-down blues that breaks apart the many pieces of the many individual pieces, fabrics, & tissues that makes up the constructs that much of the defeated and half-asleep world takes for granted. Fusilier’s “Make You” is designed to knock you off your feet and out of your chair through imagination stimulating provocations Blake further described in the following:

That kind of provocation proves difficult when there is an opposing force in our culture saying that you should live in awe of trinkets and approval. I actually think that people would love to stop living for candy crush and insta-double taps in theory, but in practice no one’s willing to step to the left and live there. Everyone thinks we should have 26 flavors of ice cream, but if you like anything other than vanilla, or even have friends who like rocky road you’re persona non grata in most circles. “Make You” is my attempt to break the stigma attached to deviance. It’s my contribution to the elevation of imagination in society.

Fusilier’s single “Make You” is available now from Brassland, with an EP coming soon.