Loner Statue - "Controller"

Today, Loner Statue shared an absolutely chilling video for their equally goosebump-inducing track, “Controller.” Zach Dighans, the artist behind the project, is no stranger to creating lush, ambient soundscapes as the principal songwriter of the Bay Area shoegaze outfit Pure Hex, but with Loner Statue, he’s clearly aiming to highlight some darker textures.

Dighans started writing songs for Loner Statue while in isolation last year, and both the song and the video capture the associated feelings of disconnection and detachment. While the bassline and the synths do have a bit of an atmospheric goth-pop vibe, the lyrics, and Dinghans unaffected delivery, don’t beat around the bush in directly addressing the malaise that accompanies separation from others. His diaristic words land hard, especially in the first verse when he sings “a feeling comes down now in your throat / burns like a fire / kills all your desire.”

The accompanying video visually projects these feelings, as it cuts between various scenes of Dighans sitting by himself, completely detached, while various people are conversing and interacting around him. Via e-mail, he described the concept behind it:

The video for “Controller” primarily focuses on portraying what it felt like to feel completely unattached and isolated from the world. You can see all of these things are happening around me and I’m just there, purely existing. Only at the end of the video have I come to terms with the role I play in my own well being.

Stream the video below!

You can pre-order “Controller” on limited edition flexi disc via Flesh & Bone Records. Keep up with Loner Statue by following them on Instagram.