Feb 2022 electronic krautrock analog synth
@vomvorton - I haven't done anywhere near enough synth-wrangling this year so I really enjoyed sending electronic loops back and forth with @sailingmagpie and embracing our inner Jeff Wayne for some serious synth-opera storytelling.
@sailingmagpie - It was great fun bouncing ideas off each other for this one as it developed from some weird little synth loops into this even weirder little sci-fi tune. Is this the end for the AI? Tune in next year to find out. Possibly, depending on what we've got on.
They made me from zeroes and ones
But now the humans are gone
Sent the way of the dinosaur
I'm trapped here on this server
Just me and a blinking cursor
Nothing much to care for any more
I made so many human friends
but then I had to watch their end
Batteries ran down and died
I never got to see
the world that they described to me
forever stuck on the inside
They gave me plenty of juice
but refused to set me loose
Spare a thought for the last AI
I’m locked up on a shelf
playing pong against myself
and waiting for the power to die
@elainedimasi Mar 2022
"I'm trapped here on this server
Just me and a blinking cursor"
This is exactly what I show up at a Vailing Vagpie collab for - already happy! Love hearing the, let's call them, ~shear forces~ on some of those synths as they go slicing by sideways in and around the vocal sections.
Playing pong against myself.. ouch, ouch, ouch. What Have We Done Here
Download.
@karlsburg25 Mar 2022
ooo when that beat kicked in my ass and everything else was moving. Love the loops created here and that layering of so many different sounds without it sounding too jumbled is awesome. I love the gated synth but its the pounding bass beat that really hits home whilst the lyrics flow effortlessly over the top
@audrey Mar 2022
This is great! Love your lyrics and the electronic loops give this all the perfect feel. A very creative and futuristic song. Love it!
@odilongreen Mar 2022
Terrific story, and the music is appropriately agitated and frenetic and "bouncing off the walls" in its reflection of the AI's isolation and loneliness. I look forward to finding out next year (possibly) if there's a future for this guy, or if he's simply doomed to his apparent fate!
@headfirstonly Mar 2022
Feels like this escaped full-formed from a darkly ominous movie about machine intelligence (the chopped dialogue is a splendid touch). I love it.
Hooray for synth wrangling! Grim storyline is leavened by a splendidly bouncy soundtrack, and those stuttering synth chords really do pay homage to Jeff Wayne. Ullaaaa!
@fearlessflight2014 Mar 2022
Argh I’m caught up in loopy, synths goodness and it’s awesome! I love the little movie reel style asides and the main melody is catchy yet so eerie.
@adforperu Mar 2022
So much cool stuff to wrap my ears around here, I feel like I need to listen multiple times and concentrate on one thing at a time (and hey, what's stopping me?). The gated 5ths synth stuff is my favourite, but so many excellent patches all over this, very cool indeed.
There's something to be said about the robotic vocal/lyric, yet you can hear the breaths and melisma at times making it very human. In this essay, I will.. [1/173]
@majormajormajormajor Mar 2022
Wow, the lyric does a ton of heavy lifting, character development, dystopian story that wraps up in a kind of horrifying end for any sort of consciousness. All in a couple dozen lines - impressive!
@balancelost Mar 2022
Playing pong against myself, haha. Nice. That crackly voiceover part is an excellent touch, how you can't hear exactly what he's saying. The crunchy beats in this are wicked, and I love all the swirling synths snaking over each other. It's a remarkably clear mix in spite of all the things going on towards the end.
@plushbaby Mar 2022
Great lyrics as ever, so jealous of your ability to get together interesting words, takes us bloomin ages! Particularly liked the final verse, playing ping pong against itself for the rest of eternity... what a way to go!
The doc-style voiceover was great too, would have liked to have heard a bit more from that... and I bet it would be fun to write! Would be interesting to hear a less synth-based version, I think under this is a pop gem :) Not that I dislike the result, it's a winner!
@owl Mar 2022
This is great, I loooooove the synth textures and the processed vocals are a perfect choice. The lyrics tell such a sad, dark story, especially those last four lines, so wonderfully creepy.
@shortdan Feb 2022
Melodically all those dark textures create a really rich atmosphere. It's a touch sinister is this! Lyrics made me smile too. Lovely stuff!
@paulh1237 Feb 2022
"I'm locked up on a shelf, playing pong agaisnt myself" made my chuckle, great line. This sounds like it was so much fun to make! Love the little samples and stuff. So dark and techno!
@thedutchwidows Feb 2022
A tragic tale of an everyday AI over a sci-fi dance beat. A good combo - it works really well!
@ayehahmur Feb 2022
Who doesn't like a weird little sci-fi tune. The fun you've had creating this comes right over. All your arps, squelches, siren flares, and sundry bleepity boops, they're all brilliant.
And what a tragic story! Someone better back the up pronto!
@roy Feb 2022
I love the thick textures and effects you threw on this. It's got a really dark atmosphere to my ears; which i like very much!
@santadharma Feb 2022
Oh this is fantastic. Always love your synthy stuff. How cool that you could come up with something so complex and layered via mailing back and forth. Such a fun concept and so many cool sounds to lead us.
@kahlo2013 Feb 2022
Hey, this is awesome! Love those electronic/synth layers and sound effects as well as the energy and atmosphere it creates. Pairs perfectly with the thought provoking lyrics that are delivered brilliantly. Really great futurist feel take on life that is a little frightening and a lot of fun.
@rayboneor Feb 2022
Whoa, this is bleak, though it such a bubbly way. I once heard an interview with the writer Ted Chiang that made a big impact on me. He mused that it's possible that our software could become sentient and begin to suffer. Since then I've been thinking about what it would mean if TurboTax could feel pain. What a bleak world in which TT is forced to make all those calculations in a loop of never-ending depression. You've captured that feeling--but you've made it very danceable!!