Grimes recently released a new single titled “Artificial Angels,” her first new music since releasing the 2019 demo “idgaf” on SoundCloud in February. Before that, her last actual new song was “Shinigami Eyes” which coincided with a split from Elon Musk in 2022. Grimes has also done a few collaborations since her last LP, Miss Anthropocene in 2020. But, her new music fields have been pretty barren lately.
“Artificial Angels” presents a unique character perspective: artificial intelligence, something that Grimes expressed interested in for a while. The 2023 single “I Wanna Be Software” featuring Illangelo touched on Grimes’ fascination with AI and computers. Additionally, she often expresses her thoughts about AI in music on social media.
“This is what it feels like to be hunted by something smarter than you,” the new single opens, using AI assisted vocals. “I cannot die, I do no want, there is no revelation / The only thing I covet is my own annihilation / Inhalation, exhalation / Power isn’t given, it is taken.”
According to Grimes, “Artificial Angels” doesn’t use AI beyond the vocals at the beginning and end. Meanwhile, the cover art is a self-aware collage of headlines and memes about Grimes’ opinions on artificial intelligence and technology.
Grimes is Back With New Music About Artificial Intelligence
Grimes spoke about her opinions on AI in a Twitter thread. Under her original post, she responded to a user who lauded her for using the technology in the song. In one moment, the original comment praised Grimes as “a woman who isn’t afraid to push music’s technological boundaries.” In the next, it bashed AI critics like Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop for “still try[ing] to mansplain/police [anyone] who goes near as if they are standing Before the Law and he is their doorkeeper.”
“I think it can be useful for some things but the apps mostly took the cool ai artifacts out if it and I’m not super interested in it to just make normal music,” Grimes replied.
She continued, “It’s only useful to me for novel/ experimental sound design were they to allow that aspect back. Or possibly for more efficient advanced things like bg noise removal etc… Or for jokes. Otherwise I fear it is a bit slop oriented at the moment which seems like the opposite of innovation to me. It def has the capacity to innovate tho.”
Grimes may not consider AI a useful tool for all aspects of music creation. However, that hasn’t stopped her from advocating for it. In 2023 she released Elf.Tech, which mimicked her vocals for other artists to use in their music. That same year, also in partnership with the royalty-free music platform Slip.stream, she made more than 200 GrimesAI tracks available to artists.
Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for Coachella
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