RECOMMENDATIONS AND REFLECTIONS

Yesterday (2/12/2020), Josue and Sami gave me some really good advice. They had both recommended me certain artists to look into and I told them I struggled, because I found their music ugly, and I can't engage with things that I find ugly. Josue said that I should try to let go of the aesthetic element, and look at what the artist is doing and their way of working, or the thought behind their work instead. This way you can take from and learn from their ideas and when you work with them, create something that is aesthetic for you. Sami said to sometimes embrace things that aren't pretty, because there is so much value to be found in things that I might consider "noise". He said noise is something that you also need to sensitize yourself to, something you need to get used to listening to. So I decided to place all the recommendations here, and reflect on how I feel about them both aesthetically and conceptually/contextually.

PROTO - HOLLY HERNDON

04/12 Conceptually - Holly Herndon created and trained an AI on both her voice and her partners voice, and the voices of her friends that composed a choir like ensemble on the album.

I read some interviews and I think it's interesting how she sees AI as a collaborator, but also as something that is inherently depended on humans and the human imput --> like it would be nothing without humans. You can hear the awkwardness/the mistakes. It weird, it's almost a lesson in patience and learning, because what the AI makes is not as nice as the human input.

There's also the question of training and input. Herndon said she didn't just train it on her old work because then she would rehash old stuff and not grow as an artist. Thinking of moving forward/growing, how do you do that with AI?

04/12 Aesthetically - It's weird, because when you hear an album was made with an AI, you immediately kind of look for what was AI and what was human, and I think Herndon kind of also makes you do that because in some tracks it's so obvious, and in others it's not really. The aesthetic of the AI is not nice - it's full of glitches and mistakes (not my vibe) but at the same time the chorus and the rawness of it is amazing, it sounds a bit like someone giving birth, like lots of pain, lots of pushing and emotion, and also some form of release/liberation.
Overall, it makes me a bit anxious to listen to, I find it unsettling.
(maybe look into this feeling of feeling unsettled)