Holly Herndon's third full-length album PROTO isn’t about A.I., but much of it was created in collaboration with her own A.I. ‘baby’, Spawn. PROTO makes reference to what Herndon refers to as the protocol era, where rapidly surfacing ideological battles over the future of A.I. protocols, centralised and decentralised internet protocols, and personal and political protocols compel us to ask ourselves who we are, what we are, what we stand for, and what we are heading towards.
For the album, Herndon assembled a contemporary ensemble of vocalists, developers, and an inhuman intelligence housed in a DIY souped-up gaming PC to create a record that encompasses live vocal processing and timeless folk singing, and places an emphasis on alien song craft and new forms of communion.
Since her arrival in 2012, Herndon has successfully mined the edges of electronic and avant-garde pop and emerged with a dynamic and disruptive canon of her own, all while studying for her soon-to-be-completed PhD at Stanford University, researching machine learning and music. Her LP Platform closed out 2015 by gracing year-end lists from Pitchfork, The Guardian, NME, and The Wire. In the aftermath, Radiohead hand-picked her to open up their European tour.
Release: 4AD/Remote Control, May 10th, 2019
Words: 4AD
For the album, Herndon assembled a contemporary ensemble of vocalists, developers, and an inhuman intelligence housed in a DIY souped-up gaming PC to create a record that encompasses live vocal processing and timeless folk singing, and places an emphasis on alien song craft and new forms of communion.
Since her arrival in 2012, Herndon has successfully mined the edges of electronic and avant-garde pop and emerged with a dynamic and disruptive canon of her own, all while studying for her soon-to-be-completed PhD at Stanford University, researching machine learning and music. Her LP Platform closed out 2015 by gracing year-end lists from Pitchfork, The Guardian, NME, and The Wire. In the aftermath, Radiohead hand-picked her to open up their European tour.
Release: 4AD/Remote Control, May 10th, 2019
Words: 4AD
RSS Feed
