Storyteller extraordinaires Andrea Pizzo and The Purple Mice take on the mighty force that is artificial intelligence, with their latest creative deep-dive and fully animated, immersive release The Machine.
Renowned across the indie plain for their uniquely historical context and outright colourful, artistic musicality, Andrea Pizzo and The Purple Mice comprises a collective of artists fusing rock, pop and electronic aspects, and in every case explores unexpected yet boldly compelling topics.
Releasing on January 19th, The Machine delves into the connections and spaces between emotions and algorithms; ‘between freedom and control’. It does so by way of a direct addressing from the AI being – a conversational, playful tone, but ultimately one that threatens our very nature, as it asserts itself fearlessly throughout the four and a half minutes of The Machine.
At the same time, this spiraling, passionate delivery and robotic rhythm and soundscape combination makes for an aptly machine-inspired, conveyer belt-style groove, which naturally reinforces the song’s implications.
Rising up in passion and energy, the leading voice continues to peak as the song gathers momentum, and the music becomes all the more enchanting and enveloping at the very same time.
The concept is both simple and complex, not unchartered territory in song or reality anymore, but this realism and fear ties in with freshly posed questions like ‘What does it mean to be free in a world controlled by algorithms?’ We can list the differences between machines and humans, between AI and soulful contemplation and creation, but what happens to our nature, our minds and our world, when we lean too heavily towards reliance upon artificial intelligence?
Proving both exciting and unsettling in its fullness and pace, the musical and lyrical journey of The Machine captivates for its unusual qualities combined. We begin with eerie bass and a dial tone, ambient warmth towards retro synths and electronic connections. Then spoken fragments indicate the takeover of AI, and so the groove drops in, and the singer relays these thoughts or layers of code (effectively) from this new creation. The haunting first words repeat quite powerfully – ‘I keep watching you, keep watching you, keep watching you… And I tell you I’m protecting you.’
Always managing to balance faultlessly along the line between the absurd and terrifying and the relative and fun, The Machine makes perfect sense as an Andrea Pizzo and the Purple Mice single, and yet presents an entire new venture on their behalf as well. There’s plenty to consider, and the consistently rising energy and intensity help draw you in more hypnotically with every moment.
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