welcome to the 7sH QR
Experience
AND we plunge
deeper down the well
a techno-katabasis
neurosonic research
1. The three bands—Kaleidoscope, Tower 7, and Straw Man Army—making up the spine of the collective…
Tap the covers to stream the records in full.
2. We were lucky enough to find a basement of our own when Kaleidoscope moved in together in 2016.
Kaleidoscope performing in the lab.
3. …inspiration has been U.S. anti-imperialist culture mixed with European anarcho-punk mixed with anti-colonial/anti-capitalist art from all around the Global South
Informed by his studies in radical struggles around the globe, Shiva works in public schools teaching visual arts and critical social research skills through non-profit organizations.
For more on his art and politics, click the image below to read his interview with PM Press.
4. …what we express in Tower 7 is a very raw response to the onset of the War on Terror as we experienced it…
Tower 7 is a reference to the rarely discussed building that collapsed in New York City on September 11th. The building was not hit by a plane, and its mysterious collapse was left completely unaddressed in the U.S. government’s official 9/11 Commission Report.
In 2008, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a report on the collapse of WTC 7 using a computer model and concluded the collapse was caused by fires in the building.
In response, a group of architects and engineers doubtful of the methods and conclusions of the NIST Investigation formed a non-profit organization called AE911TRUTH. The organization included family members of those who died in WTC 7’s collapse. In 2020 they formally filed a Request for Correction with the NIST following a detailed four-year analysis by a team at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF).
The AE911 contested the conclusions of the NIT investigation and criticized them for having a predisposition towards the fire collapse theory, not testing the controlled demolition hypothesis, and not releasing the parameters used for the modeling, as well as challenging other inconsistencies.
5. We were raised in a time when “awakening” looked like watching videos like “Zeitgeist” online…
“Zeitgeist The Movie” was an influential internet conspiracy theory film released in 2007 that helped lay the groundwork for the polemic alt-media explosion and the schizo-internet underground.
Watch it in full below
6. I’m thinking of Cointel Pro…
Cointelpro was a series of covert and illegal counterintelligence operations conducted by the FBI between 1956 and 1971 which utilized surveillance, infiltration, and sabotage of several political movements considered subversive. Many of the targeted groups were under the umbrella of what’s historically referred to as the “New-Left”.
A particular striking story is that of Afeni Shakur, mother of Tupac Shakur, and the trial of her organization, Panther21, a small chapter of the Black Panther Party
During the trial, Afeni Shakur cross-examined one of the undercover agents which sold Panther21 out for domestic terrorist plans to attack American institutions. The result was a full admission that, indeed, the undercover agents were the ones who had planned and organized the terrorist plots. The trial ended with an acquittal of all Panther21 members.
Check out this clip discussing the Panther21 trial taken from Adam Curtis’s multi-part documentary — Can’t Get You Out Of My Head.
7. “Conspiracy” is just a concept invented by the government to hide the fact that they’re pulling the wool over our eyes.
Joe is likely referring to the 1967 CIA document 1035-960 which promoted the weaponization of the term “Conspiracy Theorist” to discredit and humiliate journalists who challenged the Warren Commissions official report on the assassination of president John F. Kennedy.
The Warren Commission concluded that there was no evidence to suggest the CIA was involved in Kennedy’s murder. However, it is urgent to note that the Warren Commission was largely led by Allen Dulles, chief and founder of the CIA, who Kennedy had personally fired after the Bay of Pigs Invasion. (Historian and investigative journalist, David Talbot, wrote one of the greatest works on the subject in his 2015 book—The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government)
The American public was immediately suspicious, and this suspicion only increased after the release of American lawyer Mark Lane’s book Rush To Judgment: A Critique of the Warren Commission's Inquiry into the Murders of President John F. Kennedy, Officer J.D. Tippit and Lee Harvey Oswald, which became a national bestseller in 1966.
In response, The CIA released the following memo in April 1967 categorized as “PSYCH” which effectively weaponized the label “conspiracy theorist” by laying out a number of dirty tactics using “elite friendly contacts” including politicians and popular media outlets to discredit and demonize anyone attempting to challenge the official government narrative.
It was here the term “Conspiracy Theorist” entered into public discourse and became a psycho-linguistic tool for enforcing memetic hegemony.
Political Science professor Lance DeHaven-Smith described the memo as “one of the most successful propaganda initiatives of all time.” in a peer-reviewed book published by the University of Texas Press.
Listen to his lecture “State Crimes Against Democracy” below.
8. Any thoughts on accelerationism as a theory?
Accelerationism is a large umbrella term for a heterogenous web of thinkers united by one fatalistic assumption—Capitalism is a rouge artificial intelligence, accelerating its evolution through a cybernetic process of positive-feedback, allowing it to continuously consume and grow at exponentially increasing speeds which inevitably culminates in a techno-capital singularity and the end of the human subject.
(Unpacking this would be beyond the scope of this webpage. Stick with me.)
The popular accelerationist attitude is—because techno-capital takeover is inevitable, the most practical political response is not to attempt to resist, but rather assist in accelerating its process. Some believe this will succeed in bringing about its collapse, while others believe it’s simply better to meet the cyber-dystopian matrix head-on.
Popular accelerationist branches:
u/acc — unconditional accelerationism: Argues that acceleration is inevitable, humans cannot meaningfully impact it.
l/acc — left accelerationism: Has many subdivisions, but generally believes acceleration should be repurposed for the good of left-wing/humanitarian projects.
r/acc — right accelerationism: Believes acceleration must be protected and encouraged by right-wing politics.
z/acc — zero accelerationism: Agrees that acceleration is happening but thinks everything possible should be done to stop it.
Putting aside Kantian metaphysics, Non-Linear time, Hyperstition, and Deleuzian deterritorialization, this is still a painfully shallow description of a philosophy of hyper-complexity and diversity. For a far more comprehensive overview please check out Wired Rhizome’s incredible write-up down below.
Accelerationism as it is commonly understood today is largely credited to ideas cultivated by the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit (CCRU).
The CCRU was an experimental cultural theorist collective formed at Warwick university in 1995, led most notably by professors Nick Land and Sadie Plant.
The group is known for pioneering “theory-fiction”, a surreal form of theoretical writing which combines elements of cyberpunk and gothic horror. They also explored experiments in esoteric ritual, electronic “jungle” music, demonology, and excessive drug use.
For more on Nick Land and his influence on accelerationism, watch this video.
9. Straw Man Army did a soundtrack album about Darwin’s Beagle Voyage in the 1830s (“Her Majesty’s Ship”)…
Click the cover to stream the album.
10. I enjoyed playing illegal generator shows last year.
Watch Tower 7 play live at Highland Park