Earlier this month, producer Jean-Michel Jarre teamed up unexpectedly with international anti-government surveillance watchdog Edward Snowden to craft a fast-paced, techno-influenced track called “Exit.” The song features a wide range of abrasive synths and in-your-face drum patterns, eventually leading to a complete dialogue taken from one of Snowden’s actual interviews on the concepts of surveillance and privacy. The result is a strange and slightly off-putting arrangement that has made us question why the two even decided to get in the studio together in the first place.
As if the song itself wasn’t enough, Jarre and Snowden have since released an associated music video for the project, effectively taking the entire idea to new levels of weird. The entire video watches like a chase scene from an action thriller movie, with rapid cuts and vague, FBI-tech overlays racing across the screen. No sense of storyline exists at any point in the clip, nor does there appear to be any real connection to Snowden’s actual work in the field. It seems as though the main intent of the music video was to capitalize on the mystery and intrigue surrounding the concepts of international espionage and surveillance, without delving into any of the details or information behind Snowden’s particular involvement.
The feeling after watching, then, comes as plain discomfort and borderline cringe. See for yourself in the player below.
Source: Gizmodo