It's been four years since their full-length I Thought the Future Would Be Cooler, but L.A. dance-punks YACHT have returned, embracing the future they once found disappointing. First off, the band has expanded into a trio, adding longtime collaborator Rob Kieswetter as a full member. Secondly, they've taken on a new approach to songwriting on their upcoming release Chain Tripping (out August 30th via DFA Records), utilizing open-source Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning programs, drawing from the band’s back catalog of 82 songs as source material. In a press statement, vocalist Claire L. Evans explains:
We wanted to find a way to interrogate technology more deeply... We saw this album as an opportunity to teach the machine our values, our history, our community, and our influences. This record is a product of a technological moment that is rapidly evolving. It taught us everything we wanted to know about ourselves: how we work, what moves us, and which ambiguities are worth leaning into. We didn’t set out to produce algorithmically-generated music that could ‘pass’ as human. We set out to make something meaningful. Something entirely our own.
Watch a lyric-based video for today's featured track below, crafted by visual artist Barney McCann using an AI-powered typeface named "Obsolete."
His typeface is a fluid expression of that neural network’s attempts to find the most efficient path from one latter to the next in any given sentence. The result is amorphous and rough-hewn text, a glimpse into computational processes usually hidden from view.
Finding good new music can be a full time job, so let KEXP help! In Our Headphones brings you five song recommendations every Monday, straight from KEXP’s DJs and Music Directors. Join hosts Janice Headley and Isabel Khalili on this never-ending journey of music discovery.
Host Emily Fox and KEXP’s editorial team talk with artists about the stories behind their songs and the experiences that inform their work. Through each conversation, we uncover the humanity behind the music, allowing us to hear it in a whole new way.
