Plexiglass Hearts from Orbitals by Radiya

# Plexiglass Hearts

Translucent barriers divide Engineer Seva's world in this quiet confession. Recorded during a rare midnight maintenance shift when Quadrant 3's surveillance systems cycled down, this track captures the delicate tension of two colleagues attempting connection across Zvezdagrad's regimented divisions.

The sequenced analog bassline mimics the steady rhythm of oxygen pumps—persistent, necessary, yet ultimately mechanical like the relationships sanctioned by the Cosmominds. We layered this against synth bells that ping like distant signal transmissions, each note a careful attempt at communication that might pass unnoticed by monitoring systems.

Central to this piece is the struggle between regulation and genuine human connection. The controlled echo in the vocals reflects how words bounce back changed after passing through official channels. The plexiglass metaphor emerged from our daily reality—we interact through screens, badges, and clearance levels, seeing each other but never truly touching.

Seva's voice carries a particular vulnerability during the chorus, the result of recording after a sixteen-hour maintenance cycle when his emotional guards were lowered. The tape-choir harmonies in the outro represent all the things left unsaid, gradually fading into static.

Geographically, we drew inspiration from Zvezdagrad's Network Hub—a maze of transparent walkways where workers pass each other daily but remain separated by function and clearance. That strange intimacy of seeing without connecting saturates every frequency.

The instrumental break halfway through wasn't planned—an actual security scan interrupted our session, and we simply kept recording the equipment's response to the electromagnetic sweep. Sometimes the system itself creates beautiful accidents.

From the frost-caked radio towers of an alternate future, we transmit electronic hymns for the workers of tomorrow. Vintage synths meet vocoded Russian poetry—dance beneath red stars and remember what could have been.