Trying to even begin to understand ‘
PROTO’ takes about as much work as it does to listen to it.
‘PROTO’ feels less an album, and more a window into a future many of us can’t even begin to understand. As such, it’s not easy listening. At times, it comes across as the sonic equivalent of being forced into a dark room with the most technical thesis to have been published in the most technical journal. Especially if you’ve spent the last week listening to Lil Nas X’s 'Old Town Road'. But, given time, it becomes an intriguing prospect.
A collaboration between
Holly Herndon and an Artificial Intelligence that she created with Matthew Dryhurst named Spawn, it takes the term “electronic music” to its very extreme. Herndon has always been on the cutting edge of avant-pop, creating electronic music that drew inspiration as much from academic research as from the dancefloor. But ‘PROTO’ feels like something else entirely. Testing the limits of technology to pave a new path for pop music.
Every week, Herndon would host learning sessions in which Spawn would listen to the sound of a choir and translate that into harmonies, rhythms, beats and general noises. Piecing together songs as it grew.
'
Godmother' is a prime example of this process, which is an intensely disturbing track made of skittering beats, disjointed vocalisation and white noise. All written and produced by Spawn from the sounds it has been fed, it feels like an idea just starting to take shape. An illustrative look at the potential. Because AI is ultimately no substitute creatively for real people.
