The Obligate Surrogate is like a “replacement in waiting.” It carries out its own functions until called upon to support some greater body, if and when another similar unit fails to support that greater body. It attempts to meet the function of the previous unit, but will inevitably have its own characteristics. We are all, in some way, an obligate surrogate.
Obligate Surrogate is the hardware-based techno project of Casimer Oblivion, utilizing synths, samplers, sequencers, and similar equipment made between the 1970s and present day. The name is derived from the constant, yet critical decision to repair, replace-in-kind, or replace-with-other, in effort to achieve a desired sonic result.
We see a similar substitution all the time in nature: in the way our bodies respond to damage, in our thought processes, how we interact as social groups, and into large masses, militaries, and governments. It is just part of our programming.