Fontaines D.C. released their latest album, Dopamine Chamber, on October 16, 2026, and in a situation frontman Grian Chatten called “ironic”, they’ve found themselves in an AI controversy. The band was recently blindsided by the news that someone used AI somewhere in the process of making the “Marianne” video.
“I woke up at like 5:30 a.m. the day after the video came out, and I saw an article that said there was AI used in the video,” Chatten told the Los Angeles Times. “I called our management, and I was like, ‘What the f**k, is this true?’ and it turned out that there was some AI used in like the workflow or the postproduction.”
Chatten was adamant that the band doesn’t condone AI in any capacity. He stated that they’re going to add a clause in future contracts that prohibits the technology. What’s even more shocking than its use was that, apparently, no one knew about it.
Still, the “Marianne” video was completely human-made, said Chatten. “So all those main scenes and main effects and stuff were VFX and prosthetics,” he clarified. “Over 110 people worked on the thing. It was a real huge human effort.”
Fontaines DC Frontman Hoped to Discuss Opinions of AI in Context of New Album
Grian Chatten noted that he’d looked forward to discussing his stance on AI in upcoming interviews about the album. Unfortunately, this incident kind of beat him to it, which he said “f***ing sucked.” Speaking with the L.A. Times, Chatten further explained what happened.
“Somewhere in the process, someone from the VFX team I guess used some kind of AI in the workflow,” he said. “And none of us were told about it. Apparently, not even our label or our management were told about it and it was a real shock.”
He added, “We’re gonna have it written into our contracts going forward that it can’t be in our music videos. You know what I mean? I don’t condone it.”
The entire situation turns darkly ironic in the context of Dopamine Chamber‘s central themes. Chatten explained that the latest Fontaines D.C. album is a commentary on society’s reliance on technology, social media, and, yes, AI. Finding themselves in an AI scandal further cemented their negative feelings toward the technology.
“I think it’s f***ing terrifying,” Chatten said when asked his opinion of AI. “I was watching a Robin Williams scene from Dead Poets Society when he talks about poetry, literature. These are the things that we stay alive for, and well, that’s exactly what AI threatens to rob from the human race.
“AI is literally rendering our souls obsolete and I think that is true death,” he continued. “A lot of people say, ‘It’s here, we have to deal with it.’” Chatten’s response to that argument? “We should just shut it off. It always ends here. Every conversation [about AI] just ends grim. This is like every conversation with my dad over the last three years about it. It makes it tough to be alive, doesn’t it?”
Photo by Kieran Frost/Redferns
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