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Aphex Twin's Bizarre Video Is the Best Thing to Come of this Election

The apocalyptic soundtrack might make this election great—or at least less bad—again.
Screencap via

The uncomfortable 2016 election cycle might actually be worthwhile because of Aphex Twin's 42-second spot plugging his first US show in eight years. To get the word out about his set at Houston's Day for Night music festival, Richard D. James enlisted long-time collaborator Weirdcore. The UK-based "arty designer" mixes and mashes pinch-faced Trump and Clinton clips, Dr. Strangelove-style nuclear apocalypse animations, and plenty of the electronic music icon's toothy grin into a socio-political whirlwind.

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Aphex Twin and Weirdcore wanted to channel the look they've been building since collaborating in 2011. "A lot strong references to some graphics of our fav 70 and 80s films like Colossus, War Games, Escape from New York, and many more. Don’t wanna ruin the surprises," he tells The Creators Project. They also drive home "a strong transparency theme." Weirdcore used After Effects, Mocha, and Cinema 4D to create the political propoganda medly. "It was made fairly quickly whilst juggling other projects, as we wanted to get it out before the election day to hit everyone during the climax."

His wild processing of the 2016 election as video art is less than a minute long, but it's one of the best things to come out of this nonsensical political season (outside of our documentary on a prescient performance artist who predicted the Trump craze 16 years ago). It's hard to think of a better metaphor for the last 11 months than a "Donkey Rhubarb" Aphex Twin teddy bear riding a nuke labeled "2016" to the ground, Major Kong-style.

Follow Aphex Twin here and see more of Weirdcore's work here.

Every vote counts, so remember to hit the polls on November 8. Check out the VICE Guide to the 2016 Election here.

Related:

All Up In Your Face: Weirdcore Q&A

A 12-Year-Old Directed Aphex Twin's First Music Video in 17 Years

Meet The Guy Behind Aphex Twin's Creepy Cover Art