Composer Allan Jamisen Unveils Politically Charged Single “The Coalition”
Allan Jamisen has released “The Coalition,” a darkly cinematic and politically incisive single that interrogates the machinery behind modern conflict. Fusing trip-hop rhythms, industrial textures, jazz-inflected brass, and spoken-word intensity, the track stands as one of Jamisen’s most sonically daring and conceptually confrontational works to date.
Produced in collaboration with veteran engineer John X Volaitis (The Rolling Stones, Tracy Chapman, Bonnie Raitt), “The Coalition” builds from a stark, hypnotic groove into an expansive, film-noir soundscape. Lyrically, the track dissects the entanglement of political authority, military power, and corporate interest, questioning how conflict is manufactured and sold to the public.
“The Coalition is a political and social commentary exploring how interconnected political, military, and business enterprises are,” Jamisen explains, “and how some global conflicts are created, justified, and sold using a deceptive pretext of protecting democracy and freedom.” The recurring refrain, “It’s better than before,” serves as a chilling mantra, a rationalization for violence repeated until it feels normalized.
The song emerged from an experimental recording process that began in Phoenix with a newly graduated engineer offering free studio time. Starting with lo-fi sounds from a Casio CK-1, Jamisen shaped what he describes as an “industrial soul” direction, delivering his lyrics in a rap-inflected, spoken-word style. The track’s cinematic quality, reminiscent of 1960s spy thrillers, is heightened by deliberate jazz accents, contrasting elegant brass with the song’s ominous core.
Jamisen’s artistic journey spans decades and continents. From early collaborations in Los Angeles with guitarist Danny Saber to gospel choirs, electronic sessions in Copenhagen with Frederik Birket-Smith, and a longstanding creative partnership with Volaitis, he has consistently defied genre. His music draws from influences ranging from Burt Bacharach and The Velvet Underground to Motown and Stax, yet “The Coalition” carves its own distinct, urgent space.
“The Coalition” is a call to recognize the systems that profit from perpetual conflict. It continues Jamisen’s pattern of releasing music that challenges both form and content, refusing to look away from power, complicity, and the stories we are told.
“The Coalition” is available now on all major streaming platforms: open.spotify.com/track/6XvyHq
Allan Jamisen is a composer, painter, and recording artist whose work defies easy categorization. His music draws from a deep well of American and European influences, blending cinematic atmosphere with lyrical directness. Over decades, he has collaborated with figures ranging from early rock innovators to electronic music pioneers, maintaining an outsider’s perspective and a commitment to art that questions, confronts, and resonates.
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