More than twenty years after their debut-album the Australian duo Warren Bones (‘Bones’) and Craig L. Saunders (‘<Sik>’) aka NOVAkILL have released their sixth studio album. Released by RepoRecords, “Artifice” confirms the talent of the duo that stands for a dark, powerful and elaborate form of EBM. NOVAkILL stands for intelligent Electro and texts with content while the new opus sounds to me like their best production ever. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Your new album “Artifice” comes more than twenty years after the debut album “Hard Tech For A Hard World”. How do you feel your sound has evolved on the new opus compared to your earlier releases? And how would you describe the sound DNA of NOVAkILL?

Bones: The simple answer is that what we do has evolved in every way. The technology we rely on has gotten better and better and our skills as artists, performers, song writers and producers has also improved a lot. Of course, after 20 years you would hope to be a lot better at what you do.

I think we have a very broad idea of what NOVAkILL is and over the years that has shown up in our albums. For me, a NOVAkILL song can be whatever style we feel like making it, it only needs to have the right attitude. It needs to push the right buttons and, I think we’ve managed to achieve that with slow songs and fast songs and Electronic songs and Noise songs and even straight out Rock songs.

Sik: I think we are still doing the same thing, just better, though by not wanting to just repeat ourselves we have allowed ourselves to experiment and to push our own boundaries of what we want to put on an album, so I think our sound has become more ‘confident’.

Q: I think that the main theme of this new album revolves around the relationship of man and machine which brings us immediately to AI. Can you tell us a bit more about that and how do you experience this whole, and so important technological evolution?

Bones: We both work as graphic artists and AI is having a massive impact there. A lot of people are very negative about it but to us it is just another tool we can use to achieve our creative goals. The thing with the AI’s we have at our disposal today is they only do what you tell them to and there is real skill in crafting your prompts to get the result you are looking for.

Luddites keep saying that AI will never be able to put the emotion into a performance that a real person can but there are videos on YouTube that prove that they can already do this, and we know that in a year AI will be ten times better than it is today. Sooner rather than later, AI will be able to create music that is the equal of the greatest music ever made. So what? We don’t pretend to be the greatest band of all time, we know there are better bands out there than us but that doesn’t matter. So why would it matter that AI is also making better music than we can? I’d have thought that more great music would be a win for everyone.

People will say that AI will make it impossible for anyone to get their music noticed but that ship has already sailed. There hasn’t been any money for artists like us for a very long time and AI isn’t going to make it any worse, because it’s hard to imagine how it could be worse than it already is.

Q: It is no longer a secret to anyone that AI is also quietly but surely making its way into the world of music. How do you view that and did you use AI in the production of “Artifice” -or would you ever consider using it?

Bones: We used AI to create the images in the artwork for “Artifice”. The album cover is a composite of a couple of older images Sik created more than a year ago. We also used AI to write the lyrics for “Madhouse”. Initially I was only interested in finding some inspiration to help my own writing but ChatGPT came up with such a great couple of paragraphs, we decided to use them as they were. We only changed one word. Then I went to use another AI to create a vocal performance, again for a bit of inspiration. Unknown to me, Sik had already trained that AI to sound like me and, again, it did such a great job we decided to use the AI vocals in the song. I don’t even sing it on stage, we’re happy to let the AI do it (a recording of the AI, at least).

Q: Can you tell us a little more about the various stages you had to go through to achieve “Artifice”? And what did you experience as the greatest difficulties and challenges on the one hand and the greatest satisfactions on the other?

Bones: It sounds very boring but it sort of came together over a couple of band meetings, which is something we had never really done before. We had quite a few ideas floating around, one or two we’d had while working on the previous album, but we needed to focus to get the ball rolling and the meetings did that. We picked the best candidates and started working to turn them into proper songs.

I don’t think we had any real challenges, once we got started. It all came together fairly easily and quickly. One of the most promising ideas turned out to require a lot more effort and it was bogging us down, so we decided to shelve it. We may end up using it in whatever we do next but maybe it will never end up being finished. I’d started writing something while we were doing the rest of the album and that became “Darkness”, which filled the gap made by the shelved song.

The greatest satisfaction is when it’s finished! I really don’t enjoy the production process, it feels too much like hard work, but once you get to the point where you feel it’s as good as it’s going to get, there is a real sense of accomplishment.

Sik: Getting started wasn’t hard, and banging out a few ideas/demos was fun and easy, and shortlisting down to 12 tracks was not very hard either, and, other than that one track we couldn’t make work I don’t think there was ever a stage in making this album where we questioned our song choices.  We did question a few times if anyone else would like it, but we know it was what we wanted to do at that time.

Q: Is the newest album always the best one and do you think there’s always something to improve? And how self-critical are you with your work?

Bones: The newest album has to be the best one, otherwise it’s not ready yet! Seriously, though, I do worry about the time when maybe we stop getting better. If I’m honest, I didn’t thinkwe could do a better job than we did on “Iconoclast” so it was extremely pleasing to realize that “Artifice” had managed to improve on what we’d achievedpreviously. I think we are objective about our music, by the time an album is ready for release, we’ve listened to the songs a million times and we’d know if we hadn’t managed to do as good a job as we could.

Q: I noticed “Articice” already got very positive reactions  but how important is the opinion of the fans on the one hand and the press on the other for you?

Bones: It’s always good to know you haven’t wasted half-a-year, so both things are desirable, although nothing that affects what we do or how we do it. I don’t think there is any mileage in trying to chase an audience, we are happy to put our music out there and if it finds an audience, then all the better. If we don’t find an audience, that’s OK too, as long as we’re happy with what we’ve done. It’s always interesting to see which songs turn out to be favorites with reviewers and fans. Sometimes a song we think is just there because we like it, gets great comments in a review or on YouTube. That’s always pleasing.

Sik: Ultimately we do what we like, and aren’t trying to have a big hit, etc.  We know we have limitations, (time/money/talent etc)  but we have to work within those parameters as best we can and have confidence that the choices we make are ‘right’ at that time.  It isreally nice to know that other people are accepting of those choices and it is always good to read a review or comment from someone who seems to understand where we were coming from, but it is not what ‘drives’ us… we just ‘gotta rock’, and if other people like the way we rock that is great.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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Collection D’arnell-Andréa is now active for nearly forty years. Originally set up in 1986 by 1986 by Jean-Christophe d’Arnell, Pascal Andréa (who left the band a few years later) and Chloé St Liphard the band has released an impressive number of successful records. Somewhere in between Gothic, Neo-Classical and Dark-Wave music this French formation clearly created a very own sound-DNA. Their newest album “A Forest Inside” -released by Trisol (Germany) and Meidosem plus Infrastition Records (France), revealed a more Electronic driven composition although holding on the melancholic, acoustic, elements of their sound. It’s a new masterpiece filled with delicacy but still danceable passages. I talked about it with core member Jean-Christophe d’Arnell.  

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Collection D’arnell-Andréa was set up nearly forty years ago now and your sonic voyage clearly doesn’t sound like coming to its end. What holds on this creative fire and how did you see yourself evolving throughout the years?

Jean-Christophe: Indeed, our first record “Autumn’s Breath For Anton’s Death” (maxi 45T 4 titles / Valotte Records) was released in 1988, almost 40 years ago, at a time when none of us would have imagined that our ‘collectionism’ adventure would last that long! All of this seems quite incredible to me today, dizzying and at the same time really stimulating. The reasons for such longevity are obviously numerous, but to be honest, I must first mention the ‘luck’ factor. This chance to have, at each moment of our history and from the beginning, met people who not only felt ‘connected’ with our universe, but often also, who demonstrated a desire to share this interest. All this attention, this dynamic and so benevolent support from one or the other (fans, bands, labels, radio shows, magazines, concert organizers, webzines, fanzines, sound engineers, graphic designers, etc.) has been essential and still is.

Then, from a more pragmatic (and economic) point of view, the presence of labels at our side, ready to invest and get involved, has obviously largely contributed to our longevity. It always seems easier to create when we feel a form of desire, or at least an expectation from the ‘external world’.

We are currently witnessing, with pleasure, a strong comeback of groups who, like us, started in the 80s; but most of the time, these bands have, at some point, ceased all artistic activity for several years. This is not our case: Collection D’arnell-Andrea has indeed existed ‘full-time’ for more than 35 years and the solidity of the links which now unite all its members also obviously has a lot to do with it!

Q: You previous album “Another Winter” was released in 2019 so I can imagine the first songs for “A Forest Inside” must have been written during the pandemic and the confinements. How did you experience this period and its restrictions and did it have an impact on the new songs?

Jean-Christophe: Being lucky enough to live in the countryside, the effects of confinement were much more bearable for us than for others. I also realize that the title of the album “A Forest Inside” nevertheless also expresses, and in a completely unconscious way, a certain idea of confinement; this natural and external world, this forest that the constraints of confinement made inaccessible and which therefore condemned us to a form of intimacy, of interiority.

Even if it was obviously difficult, if not impossible, to bring together all the musicians in the group during this period, my research and composition work using keyboards made it possible to lay the synthetic bases for future pieces (rhythms, bass lines, synths). In any case, we had already gotten into the habit for several years of composing with 2 or 3 musicians at the same time maximum, and not with the whole group together. This working process allows more flexibility in terms of everyone’s schedule (a significant aspect when there are 7 in a group!) and also much more freedom in terms of inspiration for everyone.

Q: “A Forest Inside” is clearly holding on your ‘classical’ influences although you never released an album which became that Electronic and danceable. How did this evolution happen and can you give us more details about the writing- and production process?

 Jean-Christophe: To understand this evolution, I think we must first return to our album “Another Winter” released in 2019. My desire at that time was to modify my usual composition process. My new work constraint was quite radical: a ban on using my old drum machines and my vintage synths (DX21, CS 01). So I only composed from new instruments and used different drum kits from previous albums. Then, another development, the idea was that the strings (viola & cello) do not systematically intervene on all the titles. Likewise, Carine proposed using only piano on this album. Thus, all these changes have allowed our sound to evolve, and, under the leadership of our sound engineer Pierre-Emmanuel Mériaud, to further highlight our ‘synthetic’ dimension (which has nevertheless been at the heart of our music since the beginning!).

Then, still in 2019, there was the release of the album “A Recrafted Winter”, the initial idea and production of which came entirely from our sound engineer. This is a spontaneous initiative on his part; his bias was to emphasize the most electronic parts of everything we recorded for “Another Winter” (synth lines, rhythms) while keeping the original vocals and structures of the pieces relatively intact. Of course he also added a lot of programming and felt completely free to reinterpret the pieces as he wanted. He started by reworking 5 tracks and then played them for us. Chloé and I were initially surprised, but quickly totally seduced by the new sound textures and the general more Electronic atmosphere that resulted. I had the impression of listening to pieces that were both completely new and so familiar… a strange feeling indeed!

It is therefore in this context that we approached the composition of “A Forest Inside” with the desire to accentuate this evolution of our sound (while retaining the same instruments) and thus to offer an album, which allows us to renew a little, and therefore, to be of particular interest to all those who are interested in our music. Moreover, the ‘machines’ bias was not decided at the time of mixing, but well in advance. I started composing the tracks on the synth, with much more Electro atmospheres in mind; inevitably the programming of the rhythms followed, as well as the choice of sounds and the place that each of the other musicians could take in this process. There are still some very ‘collectionism’ string arrangements remaining, but in general each member of the group has adapted without difficulty to this principle of more punctual interventions, and more effective, too. It happened that some musicians only discovered the lines composed by their comrades in the studio, since most initially only had the basic structures of the pieces (rhythms, electro bass, synths). Adjustments and modifications were necessarily necessary to maintain consistency of style and sometimes also… harmony!

Q: You’ve been often inspired by nature so I guess “A Forest Inside” is clearly connected to this theme but what’s the deeper meaning and exposure of the title and the songs?

Jean-Christophe: Absolutely, Nature once again remains a central element of this new album, but the question of ecology is addressed in a rather unique way: there is no question here of guilt or despair, but of an evolution, of a ‘return to the sources’; an invitation for Man to definitively blend into Nature until the ultimate hope of becoming a constituent element and thus aiming for a little eternity: “Lichen On My Name”.

Furthermore, the much more Electro treatment of the compositions accompanies and describes feelings of revolt, of doubt, in the face of a rather dark ecological reality.

Finally, each of the titles describes in a more or less explicit manner Man’s struggles with the Nature that surrounds him, and his difficult and often painful awareness of the evolution that is imposed on him.

The title of the album was chosen at the very end of the process. The song “A Forest Inside” was already written, and we found that all the symbolism of these 2 words; completely corresponded to the album: the immensity ≠ the intimate / the concept ≠ the particular / the plant ≠ the technological

And then this title gives food for thought: is this a representation of the forest that everyone carries inside themselves? Is it an intimate forest (only known to oneself)? Is it finally about these indefinable, intangible elements which are linked to the forest (and to nature in the broad sense) and which allow us, we humans, to live and dream?

Q: I noticed the digital version of the album has been released by the end of 2023 on Trisol while physical formats are available today on Meidosem Records (vinyl) and Infrastition (CD). How comes? And what does it say about the music industry which is evolving and wherein physical releases became rare? 

Jean-Christophe: Indeed, physical releases are no longer necessarily in tune with the times because sales themselves have collapsed. However, it was inconceivable that our album would only be available on digital platforms, even if we are perfectly aware of the evolution of the record market and the economic constraints which inevitably weigh on labels. Also, we sought to set up a sort of partnership with 2 French labels that we know and appreciate very much (Meidosem & Infrastition) so that “A Forest Inside” could be available on vinyl and on CD/Digipack. We had already collaborated with Meidosem for the vinyl editions of “Another Winter” and the reissue of “Villers-Aux-Vents”. As for Infrastition, this label already offers part of our back catalog (digipack) for sale; our proposal therefore responded to certain logic, even evidence. Their positive response to this proposal and their enthusiastic participation gave us great pleasure. It took a few weeks for things to come to fruition (artwork, pressing, etc.), which explains the different official release dates, depending on the formats!

Q: In a previous interview you said you’re definitely nostalgic. So I would like to know how you experience modern times referring to evolutions like streaming platforms and the lack of interest for physical material, labels closing their doors, (r)evolution of software, but also ChatGPT? ao

Jean-Christophe: It’s true, I tend to let myself be overcome by a certain form of melancholy or rather nostalgia; fortunately, these feelings are always accompanied by an overflow of positive and dynamic energy (even optimism!)… A paradox which inevitably shines through in CDAA’s compositions and in my musical tastes since always. This emotional distance that the past imposes on us has often been a great source of inspiration for my texts. In any case, I remain passionate about the period which extends between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.

As for technological evolution, we have experienced it up close, whether it concerns recording techniques and/or the media for our music. Our first album “Un Automne à Loroy” was recorded on magnetic tape, we attended the mastering at Translab and the record was released in 3 formats: K7, vinyl and CD! Obviously, I have remained very attached to the physical medium and I admit, I still buy CDs and do not yet consume music via streaming platforms. As for vinyl and its big comeback, it is with nostalgia and amusement that I see in the record store bins reissues of albums that I bought when I was 18!

Indeed, I have the impression that the artistic offer has developed in an incredible way thanks in part to technological progress making it possible to compose and produce music. It is obvious that with a home studio you can more easily and at a reasonable cost, produce an entire album, distribute it and sell it (possibly) via the internet. As in many areas, the monopoly of the big record companies tends to eliminate independent networks (labels, press, distribution). Fortunately, there are still a few independent labels courageous, competent and motivated enough to offer a real partnership with groups, there will always be some, and that’s so much the better. We started with New Rose / Lively Art (a true reference in terms of independent label) and today we could not imagine not collaborating with a label. Our (small) notoriety and our music have always allowed us to have this chance, and to be honest, we would have a hard time changing how we operate….too much ‘nostalgic’ perhaps!

Autumn & best regards…

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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The influx of press releases crafted by artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT is a notable trend, albeit with a very nasty catch: the end product often falls miserably short of journalistic standards. This shortfall isn’t inherently a flaw of the AI tool but stems from its extremely superficial application by users who apparently have no idea at all how to work with the tool.

The crux of the problem lies in the essence of AI-generated content. While tools like ChatGPT are adept at creating coherent and stylistically refined texts, the richness of the content is directly tied to the quality of input it receives. When bands, labels, or PR representatives offer scant information, the AI is compelled to bridge these gaps, leading to content that is devoid of a solid factual base. The result: a concoction of words lacking in factual elements. And it is a growing concern that poses a significant challenge for music journalists and news platforms like Side-Line.

Here’s a ‘dumb’ prompt which seems to be used extensively :).

AI will not replace your initial work of info gathering

AI-generated texts aren’t inherently inferior; in fact, they are often more coherent and comprehensible than their human-written counterparts. The primary issue lies in the sheer lack of informative content within these texts.

I’m not opposed to the use of AI-generated texts; I utilize it daily for editing or refining texts. However, it’s crucial for artists and labels to ensure their communications retain substantive information. Currently, I receive about 20-40 press releases daily, with roughly half evidently AI-generated and devoid of essential information. These releases are often a torrent of adjectives and subjective language, leaving readers clueless about the actual content. Interestingly, this trend is more prevalent among larger labels, with mainstream ones leading this race to the bottom. Whereas press texts used to be concise, they are now inflated into lengthy, nonsensical narratives. Some sites do a copy-paste and that’s it. But at Side-Line we will remove as much promotional wording as possible. Facts, facts and facts.

As the volume of press releases swells, the decline in their quality becomes apparent, demanding more time and effort from journalists – resources that at Side-Line are uncompensated. There is no staff member (me neither) who earns money from what he or she does for Side-Line. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the tedious task of sifting through AI-generated press releases to extract verifiable facts has become an increasingly burdensome task.

To illustrate our approach nowadays: when we encounter a press release brimming with promotional AI-generated fluff, we immediately resort to ChatGPT to extract the factual information. This is a necessity, as manually purging the original text of non-essential content is excessively time-consuming. Should the press release lack substantial information after ChatGPT’s own filtering, then we will discard it altogether, opting not to publish a news piece based on this particular press release.

Or how ChatGPT is used by us to clean out the ChatGPT generated content.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

British actor and comedian Stephen Fry has quoted the response Nick Cave gave on Chat GPT at the recent Letters Live event. Cave more specifically addressed fans’ inquiries about ChatGPT’s impact on human creativity. The backdrop of these questions is the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence and its implications, highlighted by ongoing developments at OpenAI, the organization behind ChatGPT.

Nick Cave, known for his engagement with fans through The Red Hand Files – his interactive blog forum – recently (August 2023) responded to two fans, Leon and Charlie, about the use of ChatGPT in creative processes. In his reply, Cave expressed deep skepticism about the increasing reliance on AI for artistic creation.

At the Letters Live event which took place on November 16th, marking its 10th anniversary, at London’s Royal Albert Hall, Fry read Cave’s letter during the second part (“We are fighting for the very soul of the world”) of his speech, emphasizing the musician’s concerns about AI’s role in the arts. Letters Live is renowned for its celebration of literary correspondence, featuring a variety of performers reading significant historical and contemporary letters.

Nick Cave skeptical about the use of AI in the creative process

In his response, Cave critically addresses the issue raised by Leon, who works in the music industry and discussed the growing use of ChatGPT for songwriting, noting its efficiency. Charlie’s question sought advice for a young songwriter just starting out. Cave’s reply, as read by Fry, highlights his stance on the matter.

Cave argues that AI, like ChatGPT, is accelerating the commodification of human creativity, reducing the value and necessity of human participation in the creative process. He criticizes the use of AI for art creation as a threat to the essence of human spirit and creativity.

Earlier, responding to a fan named Mark who shared an AI-generated song in the style of Nick Cave, Cave had dismissed the piece as lacking authenticity and depth. He expressed his unease with the enthusiasm surrounding AI in creative fields, fearing that its perpetual infancy and relentless advancement could undermine the essence of human artistic expression.

Below is Nick Cave’s original response.

“Dear Leon and Charlie,

In the story of the creation, God makes the world, and everything in it, in six days. On the seventh day he rests. The day of rest is significant because it suggests that the creation required a certain effort on God’s part, that some form of artistic struggle had taken place. This struggle is the validating impulse that gives God’s world its intrinsic meaning. The world becomes more than just an object full of other objects, rather it is imbued with the vital spirit, the pneuma, of its creator.

ChatGPT rejects any notions of creative struggle, that our endeavours animate and nurture our lives giving them depth and meaning. It rejects that there is a collective, essential and unconscious human spirit underpinning our existence, connecting us all through our mutual striving.

ChatGPT is fast-tracking the commodification of the human spirit by mechanising the imagination. It renders our participation in the act of creation as valueless and unnecessary. That ‘songwriter ‘you were talking to, Leon, who is using ChatGPT to write ‘his’ lyrics because it is ‘faster and easier ,’is participating in this erosion of the world’s soul and the spirit of humanity itself and, to put it politely, should fucking desist if he wants to continue calling himself a songwriter.

ChatGPT’s intent is to eliminate the process of creation and its attendant challenges, viewing it as nothing more than a time-wasting inconvenience that stands in the way of the commodity itself. Why strive?, it contends. Why bother with the artistic process and its accompanying trials? Why shouldn’t we make it ‘faster and easier?’

When the God of the Bible looked upon what He had created, He did so with a sense of accomplishment and saw that ‘it was good‘. ‘It was good ‘because it required something of His own self, and His struggle imbued creation with a moral imperative, in short love. Charlie, even though the creative act requires considerable effort, in the end you will be contributing to the vast network of love that supports human existence. There are all sorts of temptations in this world that will eat away at your creative spirit, but none more fiendish than that boundless machine of artistic demoralisation, ChatGPT.

As humans, we so often feel helpless in our own smallness, yet still we find the resilience to do and make beautiful things, and this is where the meaning of life resides. Nature reminds us of this constantly. The world is often cast as a purely malignant place, but still the joy of creation exerts itself, and as the sun rises upon the struggle of the day, the Great Crested Grebe dances upon the water. It is our striving that becomes the very essence of meaning. This impulse – the creative dance – that is now being so cynically undermined, must be defended at all costs, and just as we would fight any existential evil, we should fight it tooth and nail, for we are fighting for the very soul of the world.

Love, Nick”

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Industrial, Cinematic.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: This new work by the legendary AutopsiA collective has been conceived for an AutopsiA exhibition which took place earlier this year. Six tracks have been composed and performed together with the Dämmerung Orchestra.

Content: Both debut cuts bring us back to early Industrial Experiments during the 80s which reminds us that AutopsiA were part of this ‘Industrial music revolution’. Quite progressively the work moves into more familiar Cinematic fields which have been often experimented by AutopsiA during the past years. The album features multiple spoken/narrative parts taken from ChatGPT and the work of Bertolt Brecht, Karl Marx, Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim.

+ + + : The debut part of the work sounds phenomenal, getting the listener back in the early days of 80s Industrial music. The Industrial, metallic sound treatments together with orchestral arrangements and narrative passages to me evoke the great Industrial music from the 80s. “The Book Of Elements” invites the listener to embark for a trip of more than 20 minutes and definitely sounds like a masterpiece. The next cuts bring Cinematic music which is another side of the project but still featuring captivating passages driven by intriguing speeches.

– – – : I honestly regret AutopsiA haven’t compose a fully Industrial opus. I think it would have brought the early spirit of Industrial music alive which is a lost sensation today.

Conclusion: Genius retro-Industrial music mixed with intriguing Cinematic stuff.

Best songs: “The Book Of Elements”, “Of Risk Capital Was The Earth Created”, “The Factory Sermon 2”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.autopsia.net / www.facebook.com/autopsiaofficial

About AutopsiA

AutopsiA is an anonymous industrial art collective that, according to its own site, “comes out of nowhere” and “appeared in 1980” through the fanzines “Bank Rot” and “Prose Selavy” in the former Yugoslavia. The group’s members have always remained incognito. Its work combines music, image and text around the theme of death, and curator Dejan Sretenovic has compared its aesthetic and visual-musical synergy to Laibach. AutopsiA has performed live only rarely, favoring recordings, publications and exhibitions instead. The current work was composed and performed with the Dammerung Orchestra for an AutopsiA exhibition earlier in 2023.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Last week the Dallas-based dark electro act SpankTheNun launched the original “Chrome” video, today Side-Line can exclusively present the remix of that video for a different version of the song, “Chrome (Extize Remix)”.

This new video uses AI to remix the video into a wholly new piece of work. For the band this is their seventh single from their forthcoming new album, “The Bunker Tapes Vol III” set to be released later this Summer.

Here’s what the band says about this new approach: “Using AI in art and music is a passion that we have been exploring for years. It is also a passion of Extize who recently released a track written by ChatGPT. When we teamed up with Extize for this remix, we knew we were going to have to do something special with the video for the Extize remix of ‘Chrome’. We knew we had to incorporate it somehow.”

In the video SpankTheNun leverages AI rendering technology to effectively remix the video they made for the original version of “Chrome” and recreate it for the “Chrome (Extize remix)”. The band adds: “The video starts out very similar to the original but quickly takes a sharp turn into the mad world of AI. Our main character in the video is transported into an alternate cyberpunk underground club where nothing is what it seems.”

Here’s the video.

SpankTheNun has been releasing a new single from their forthcoming album every month. Each single is available on all streaming platforms, but additional remixes are available on Bandcamp or Soundcloud only.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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For the past couple of months we have been testing ChatGPT at Side-Line to see if it could help us with our text writing. And we have been launching all kind of queries, sometimes with pleasant surprises. This is the first in a few articles where we let the AI powered chat software spin a few texts.

For those unaware, GPT (Generative Pre-training Transformer) is a machine learning model developed by OpenAI. GPT is a type of language model that is trained to predict the next word in a sequence of words, given the previous words in the sequence. ChatGPT is a variant of GPT that is specifically designed for conversation and it is trained on a large dataset of human conversation, and is able to generate human-like responses to a given input. It is able to understand the context and meaning of words, and can generate appropriate responses based on this understanding. ChatGPT is able to generate responses that are coherent and appropriate, and can engage in conversation on a wide range of topics.

In summary, ChatGPT is a machine learning model that is designed to generate human-like responses to input, allowing it to engage in conversation with users. It does this by predicting the next word in a sequence based on the previous words and context, using its understanding of language and meaning.

A few weeks ago we let it write a text on the future of industrial music, this is what it came up with.

What is the future of industrial music?

It is difficult to predict the future of any music genre with certainty, as it is influenced by a wide range of factors such as cultural trends, technological advances, and the evolution of musical tastes. However, it is possible to make some educated guesses about the future of industrial music based on its history and current state.

One potential future for industrial music is that it will continue to evolve and incorporate elements from other genres. Industrial music has always been a hybrid genre, incorporating elements from a wide range of styles such as punk, electronic, and metal. As such, it is likely that industrial music will continue to borrow from and be influenced by other genres in the future.

Another potential future for industrial music is that it will continue to be a niche genre, but with a dedicated and passionate fan base. Industrial music has always been a genre that appeals to a specific audience, and it is likely that this will continue to be the case in the future. While industrial music may not achieve mainstream success, it could continue to have a dedicated and influential fan base that keeps the genre alive and vibrant.

Technological advances may also play a role in the future of industrial music. The use of electronic instrumentation and production techniques has always been a key part of the industrial sound, and it is likely that technological advances will continue to shape the sound of industrial music in the future. For example, the use of virtual instruments and software synthesizers may become more prevalent in industrial music production, allowing artists to create new and innovative sounds.

Another potential future for industrial music is that it will continue to be a genre that reflects and addresses social and political issues. Many industrial bands have always used their music as a way to comment on and critique society and its problems, and it is likely that this will continue to be the case in the future. Industrial music has always been a genre that has addressed themes such as power, control, and oppression, and it is possible that these themes will continue to be relevant in the future.

Overall, the future of industrial music is uncertain, but it is likely that the genre will continue to evolve and adapt to changing cultural and technological trends. While industrial music may not achieve mainstream success, it could continue to have a dedicated and passionate fan base that keeps the genre alive and relevant.

What are the challenges for industrial music?

There are a number of challenges and issues that industrial music has faced and continues to face. Some of these challenges include:

• Lack of mainstream success: Industrial music has always been a niche genre, and it has struggled to achieve mainstream success. This can make it difficult for industrial bands to find a wide audience and to make a living from their music.
• Limited commercial appeal: Industrial music is often characterized by its experimental and unconventional sound, which can make it less appealing to a commercial market. This can make it difficult for industrial bands to gain the support of record labels and to find opportunities to perform and tour.
• Stereotyping and misunderstanding: Industrial music is often misunderstood and stereotyped by the mainstream media, who may portray the genre as being violent or dangerous. This can make it difficult for industrial bands to gain respect and recognition for their music.
• Competition with other genres: Industrial music has always been a hybrid genre, incorporating elements from a wide range of styles such as punk, electronic, and metal. This can make it difficult for industrial bands to stand out in a crowded music market, as they may be competing with other genres for attention.
• Limited resources: Industrial music is often produced on a small scale, with many bands operating on a DIY basis. This can make it difficult for industrial bands to access the resources and support they need to create and promote their music.

There are a number of ways that industrial music could potentially reinvent itself and adapt to changing cultural and technological trends. Some possible ways that industrial music could evolve include:

• Incorporating elements from other genres: Industrial music has always been a hybrid genre, incorporating elements from a wide range of styles such as punk, electronic, and metal. Industrial music could continue to evolve by borrowing from and being influenced by other genres, incorporating new sounds and ideas into its sound.
• Experimenting with new production techniques: Industrial music has always been characterized by its use of electronic instrumentation and production techniques. Industrial bands could continue to explore new and innovative ways of using technology in their music, such as using virtual instruments or software synthesizers.
• Collaborating with artists from other genres: Industrial music could potentially collaborate with artists from other genres, creating new and unique sounds and styles. This could help to bring industrial music to a wider audience and to reach new fans.
• Refocusing on political and social themes: Many industrial bands have always used their music as a way to comment on and critique society and its problems. Industrial music could potentially refocus on these themes, using its music to address contemporary social and political issues.
• Exploring new visual aesthetics: Industrial music has always had a distinctive visual aesthetic, with many fans sporting black clothing and leather or PVC gear. Industrial bands could potentially explore new visual styles and aesthetics, helping to keep the genre fresh and exciting.

Overall, there are many ways that industrial music could potentially reinvent itself and adapt to changing cultural and technological trends. It is likely that the genre will continue to evolve and adapt over time, and that new artists and bands will bring their own unique perspectives and influences to the table.

What were the most innovative industrial bands in the past?

There have been many innovative industrial bands throughout the history of the genre. Some of the most influential and innovative industrial bands include:

1. Kraftwerk: Kraftwerk is a German band that is often credited as the pioneers of electronic music. They were one of the first bands to use electronic instrumentation and production techniques in their music, and their experimental and innovative approach to sound helped to shape the industrial genre.
2. Throbbing Gristle: Throbbing Gristle was a British band that was active in the 1970s and early 1980s. They were known for their experimental and unconventional approach to music, and were one of the first bands to be associated with the industrial genre.
3. Einstürzende Neubauten: Einstürzende Neubauten is a German band that is known for their innovative and unconventional use of found objects and industrial materials in their music. They have been influential in the industrial genre, and have inspired many other artists to experiment with new and unusual sounds.
4. Skinny Puppy: Skinny Puppy is a Canadian band that is known for their innovative use of electronic instrumentation and production techniques in their music. They have been influential in the industrial genre, and have inspired many other artists to experiment with electronic sounds.
5. Nine Inch Nails: Nine Inch Nails is an American band that is known for their experimental and innovative approach to music. They have been influential in the industrial genre, and have incorporated elements from a wide range of styles into their sound.

What are the most innovative industrial bands today?

There are many contemporary industrial bands that are known for their experimental and innovative approach to music. Some examples of innovative industrial bands that are active today include:

1. Blanck Mass: Blanck Mass is a British electronic music project that is known for its experimental and unconventional sound. They incorporate elements from a wide range of genres into their music, and are known for their innovative use of electronic instrumentation and production techniques.
2. Youth Code: Youth Code is an American band that is known for their aggressive and experimental sound, which incorporates elements from industrial, punk, and electronic music. They are known for their innovative use of electronic instrumentation and production techniques, and for their unconventional approach to music.
3. Pharmakon: Pharmakon is an American noise musician who is known for her experimental and unconventional approach to music. She incorporates elements from industrial, noise, and electronic music into her sound, and is known for her innovative use of electronic instrumentation and production techniques.
4. Factory Floor: Factory Floor is a British band that is known for their experimental and innovative approach to music. They incorporate elements from a wide range of genres into their sound, and are known for their innovative use of electronic instrumentation and production techniques.
5. Zanias: Zanias is an Australian electronic musician who is known for her experimental and unconventional approach to music. She incorporates elements from industrial, techno, and ambient music into her sound, and is known for her innovative use of electronic instrumentation and production techniques.

These are just a few examples of the many innovative industrial bands that are active today.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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