Echoes, the artist-AI hybrid EP that experimental electronica artist Paul Feder teased with last month’s single “Paperclips” is now out as of July 23rd and its two other tracks, the title track and “Human Love”, will likely surprise listeners, as they’re quite different from said teaser.
Ever the genre-and-style-hopper, Feder had a concept for Echoes, but it was not meant to be reflected in the music. Where “Paperclips” is retro and robotic a’la Kraftwerk and a bit of a departure from the Brooklyn-based artist’s usual repertoire, “Human Love” and the title track are more dreamy and ambient. All of the track, however, were made with the help of AI, as were the videos for “Paperclips” and “Echoes”. This concept comes from Feder’s own interpretation of what many artists are currently grappling with: can AI really fit in with art in a way that’s cohesive and harmonious? And if so, how?
“Paperclips” really looks at that question with one of the many doomsday theories that have been projected since the advent of AI, philosopher Nick Bostrom’s Paperclip Theory.
“Paperclips” is based on AI thought experiment in which a sentient AI is given a simple task: maximize paperclip production. The end result is a Terminator-style future in which humanity is eradicated in the service of making A LOT of paperclips.
The song of the same name not only feels very robotic, but the desperation of this paperclip dystopia really comes through in the music, which, while a bop, has that very rigid, robotic feel to it. If Feder wasn’t forthcoming about the track being inspired by AI, it would likely be obvious. The video, which depicts the robots in a frantic assembly line of paperclip production, nails the point home. Or at least affixes it with a peperclip.
“Human Love” and “Echoes” also seem to be written from the perspective of AI creatures, with the former containing a sort of wistful tone as the machines attempt to come to grips with humanity. A house-pop dance tune with a cool future bass break, “Human Love” explores the likely consternation of an AI being of never being able to feel human love, In the world Feder’s created with Echoes, grasping that could be perhaps the only thing that could pull the machines away from their paperclip obsession.
“Human Love” merges into “Echoes”, a short, beatless, ambient track that, in contrast to the emotionless “Paperclips” and the somewhat confused “Human Love”, is all emotion and tone. Sinewaves and echoes match up with the swirling, celestial images in the all-AI video which seems to show all the brilliance of humanity and the universe, but it also has an unreal quality because it’s made by AI. Is this the machines finally understanding? Is The Matrix taking over? It’s anyone’s guess, and there’s nowhere to go now but forward.
I’ve watched the rapid advances in artificial intelligence with a mix of wonder and existential dread. In ‘Echoes’, I explores the anxiety I feel about being replaced by AI while using AI technology in the creative process. I navigated through this uneasy territory and ultimately embraced the collaborative potential of human and machine.
Watch the new “Human Love” music video.
Watch the music video for the “Echoes” single.
Stream “Echoes” on Spotify.
Tracklist: 1. Paperclips
2. Human Love
3. Echoes
Websites:
Official Website: www.paulfeder.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/paulfedermusic
Twitter: www.twitter.com/paulfeder
Instagram: www.instagram.com/djpaulfeder
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6tYHKTVlgUmLlt0zYRXi6G?si=SqsAWXOPSfqUuqtv2hvT1Q
Bandcamp: https://paulfeder.bandcamp.com
Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/paulfeder
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe10aWeJfGN7NtxVDwaQa8w
Artist Biography:
Paul Feder is a Brooklyn-based producer and DJ. As an 80s kid, Paul would listen with rapt attention whenever his parents would play their cassette tape of Trans Europa Express by Kraftwerk. This early exposure to electronic music set the stage for Paul’s first mashups in high school, synth instrumentals in college, and MIDI interfaces in grad school. In his 20s and 30s, Paul started DJing and producing vocoder synthpop songs as Pico Fermi. In 2012 Paul co-founded Charcole Federation – a sitar-infused electronic band – that released their eponymous EP in 2015, and performed at the Rubin Museum and Holi Festival of Colors. One day in 2019, Paul brought a laptop, a synth, and an old beaten-up harmonizer to Battalion Studios in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The solitude of that day, coupled with trying out old gear in a new way led to a creative and technical “aha moment”. Paul found his voice and began working on his debut solo EP Nightwalk, featuring sparse, open-ended lyrics and
dense, visually evocative production, with contributions by members of the band Jane In Space. In 2023, Paul released Never Sleep, a more personal and introspective EP dedicated to his late father Jack Feder.
Paul is currently releasing Paperclips, a single from his new AI-inspired EP, Echoes set for release later this summer.
Press Quotes:
“Spiritual, yearning, deeply organic electronic music that envelops you as it spirals onwards and upwards through the pixels of your mind” – Noho Arts District
“Never Sleep is a fantastic expansion of Feder’s sound, offering a more vulnerable,
introspective side of the artist…” – The Big Takeover
“Feder engagingly blends radiant songwriting and production…” – Obscure Sound
“Nightwalk is… a lofty record that flows between observer and observed in a slick piece of Euro-tinged electronica” – Music-News.com
“Feder’s dreamy vocals imbue the lyrics with lingering timbres, at once haunting and
wistful.” – Tattoo.com
