Feature: Allan Jamisen Decodes “The Coalition”
Punk Head: “The Coalition” unfolds like a political thriller rather than a conventional track. When did you realize the song needed to operate more cinematically and beyond a traditional song structure?
Allan Jamisen: It evolved in that direction organically with no real intention involved. The song told us what it needed and where it wanted to go - we were just following along, looking to create a unique experience.
Punk Head: The line “It’s better than before” feels deliberately unsettling in its calmness. How quickly did that phrase reveal itself to you?
Allan Jamisen: Immediately - from the inception of the song. It’s a great “hook,” the type of simplistic, catch phrase language that despots (and songwriters) utilize to sell their ideas to the public.
Punk Head: There’s a striking elegance in the arrangement. What does that contrast represent to you in terms of how authority and control present themselves?
Allan Jamisen: The contrast between the edgy, ominous lo-fi vibe forming the basis of the song, and the sophisticated jazz references is meant to be disorienting; something subconsciously ironic and even a little nostalgic, allowing the disturbing underlying message to become more easily absorbed and processed intellectually and spiritually.
Punk Head: The track began with lo-fi experimentation and was later refined with a veteran collaborator. How did that evolution from raw construction to cinematic precision affect the emotional weight of the final piece?
Allan Jamisen: Well, the co-producer John X Volaitis and I are some elegant MF’ers… It becomes a form of socio-psychological journalism in a musical format, which is a common thread running through most of the work we’ve produced together.
Punk Head: “The Coalition” implicates systems, institutions, and the narratives that sustain them. When the song ends, what discomfort or recognition do you hope listeners are left sitting with?
Allan Jamisen: I hope it shakes them to the core - and it’s better than before.
