Composer Rettward von Doernberg’s latest release fingers the throbbing nerve in all our foreheads. Follow The Money drips with cold electronic intrigue over a thick driving bass, like Nine Inch Nails had a baby with the Stereo MCs. It’s got that something in the finish that sparkles in its darkness, like an episode of Mr. Robot or an Alan Moore comic. This the track for thumbing through radical literature or planning your next revolution.

The visual component is striking. The juxtaposition of workers chugging along being the backbone of society while cults of personality sparkle above them rings of today’s governmental landscape. Collected images from the war in Ukraine show the origin of the track’s heavy concept. “Whenever human actions make no sense, I ask myself who benefits from it?” von Doernberg states, noting that this piece is about corruption, and, more narrowly, “the big business of war.” The marionette could serve as a symbol for any of a dozen popular and unpopular leaders worldwide, who touch the faces of babies while pushing “the button.” But like the track’s throbbing undercurrent reminds us, there are less obvious hands moving fate, and they remain shrouded in mystery while collecting the profit.

★ rettward.com ★