"Wij zijn onderdeel van het probleem – bewust of onbewust. Daarom strijd ik Against The Machine."
Utrecht-based artist Damon Brunings, performing as ACE, released his EP "ACE Against the Machine" in late February, featuring eight tracks addressing inequality and social media algorithms. The EP functions as "peaceful resistance against injustice."
The track "Virgil" explores mindset through a running joke within ACE's friend group, with the artist explaining that "twee Virgil" represents maintaining authenticity and integrity at 100%.
The song "ATM" captures ACE's internal struggle, examining questions like "With whom am I fighting so hard? And why?" The artist reflects on time as humanity's most precious resource and how individuals choose to allocate their attention and financial support.
ACE emphasizes the dual nature of complicity: "We are part of the problem—consciously or unconsciously." He describes his creative process as conceptual, beginning with freestyling around core ideas until reaching their essence, particularly prioritizing "the first four bars" to establish emotional tone.
