The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new video from Ai fen x Buitenmens. “Algorithms” is a collaborative work born out of the Covid-19 quarantine. The Chinese-Polish artist/musician and Dutch composer and visual artist came together virtually to create this powerful piece exploring the melancholy, loneliness and struggle to maintain a sense of meaning under forced lockdown. At the same time, “Algorithms” turns an eye to the phenomenon of getting a friend request from someone you don’t know only to discover that you’ve actually been in close contact with them.

We've all had it happen to us: someone contacts us on social media that we don't know with a friend request. Sometimes if we have enough mutual friends, we just accept. Sometimes we ask: How do you know me?

When Buitenmens contacted Ai fen, that's exactly what she asked. Buitenmens replied that for weeks Facebook had been suggesting her as a friend, so he thought “why not?” and sent a friend request on a whim. After finding out they both were musicians, Buitenmens asked Ai fen if she would like to collaborate with him in ThuisLab’s open call for a Dutch artist to work with someone they had never met! On lockdown in Czechia, Ai fen readily agreed. The stipulations of the open call were that the project be completed within a week, so the deadline was much tighter than both artists were used to but perhaps exactly this lack of time allowed the track to crystallize. The collaboration started with Buitenmens sending a composition to Ai fen along with all of the individual samples. A few days later she sent something Buitenmens described as, “very different, much darker and scary.” Undaunted by the new turn his work had taken, Buitenmens responded with a few subtle tweaks and sent it back to Ai fen, who recorded the flute and vocals and prepared the mix while Buitenmens, also a video artist, made a beautiful visual for the track.

We are excited to present this unique work which combines elements of poetry, doom-laden pop, synth and experimental electronics. A piece that will no doubt resonate with many of us during this unprecedented time.

-JRS