Electronic Artist PAUL FEDER Explores Complex Relationship With AI On “Paperclips”
Electronic artist PAUL FEDER Explores the complex relationship between Humans and AI on “Paperclips”
Prolific Brooklyn electronic artist Paul Feder is fully flexing his electro muscles in his new single, “Paperclips,” as he explores the inevitable complex relationship with AI that humankind is in the midst of developing. Due out June 25, “Paperclips” will be the first single on Feder’s forthcoming EP Echoes, which is due out later this summer.
With a trippy AI-built video, the new single “Paperclips” is the most direct homage to Kraftwerk Feder fans will have seen thus far. The story itself was inspired by Feder’s own discomfort with and ultimate embrace of AI, as well as theories of philosopher Nick Bostrom about the controversial technology.
“Paperclips” is based on AI thought experiment in which a sentient AI is given a simple task: maximize paperclip production. The end result is a Terminator-style future in which humanity is eradicated in the service of making A LOT of paperclips.
This seems to be where many theories about the advancement of artificial intelligence seem to go, but Feder, through working this track, came to a different conclusion and sees it from the AI’s point of view.
It’s a tongue-in-cheek robotic dance track and fever-dream AI video that imagines intelligent machines attaining meaning and fulfillment in their relentless pursuit of productivity.
Oh, would that it were so simple. That said, many artists who are beginning to play around with AI as a tool for making their art seem to be coming to similar conclusions. The inevitable end of AI’s means could likely be more collaboration than eradication. In the meantime, artists like Feder will continue to experiment with the different creative avenues. With its nod to Kraftwerk, vintage synths marrying with modern DAWs and AI-created video, “Paperclips” certainly bridges that gap. Not to mention it’s a bop. Stay tuned for the rest of Echoes for more concept-driven electronic contemplations.
Stream “Paperclips” on Spotify.
Watch the music video for “Paperclips”.
More Info:
Artist Name: Paul Feder
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Release Title: Paperclips
Release Date: 6/25/24
Label: Aion Records
Producer Name(s): Paul Feder
Production: Mixed by Jeremy McLennan, and Mastered by David Little
Musician Names/Instruments:
- Paul Feder (production, vocals)
Similar/RIYL: Aphex Twin, Chvrches, Electric Youth, Holly Herndon, Kraftwerk
Genre(s): Synthpop, Indie Electronic, Electropop, Indietronica
Tracklist:
- Paperclips
Press Quotes:
“Spiritual, yearning, deeply organic electronic music that envelops you as it spirals onwards and upwards through the pixels of your mind” – Noho Arts District
“Never Sleep is a fantastic expansion of Feder’s sound, offering a more vulnerable, introspective side of the artist…” – The Big Takeover
“Feder engagingly blends radiant songwriting and production…” – Obscure Sound
“Nightwalk is… a lofty record that flows between observer and observed in a slick piece of Euro-tinged electronica” – Music-News.com
“Feder’s dreamy vocals imbue the lyrics with lingering timbres, at once haunting and wistful.” – Tattoo.com
Artist Biography:
Paul Feder is a Brooklyn-based producer and DJ. As an 80s kid, Paul would listen with rapt attention whenever his parents would play their cassette tape of Trans Europa Express by Kraftwerk. This early exposure to electronic music set the stage for Paul’s first mashups in high school, synth instrumentals in college, and MIDI interfaces in grad school.
In his 20s and 30s, Paul started DJing and producing vocoder synthpop songs as Pico Fermi. In 2012 Paul co-founded Charcole Federation – a sitar-infused electronic band – that released their eponymous EP in 2015, and performed at the Rubin Museum and Holi Festival of Colors. One day in 2019, Paul brought a laptop, a synth, and an old beaten-up harmonizer to Battalion Studios in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The solitude of that day, coupled with trying out old gear in a new way led to a creative and technical “aha moment”.
Paul found his voice and began working on his debut solo EP Nightwalk, featuring sparse, open-ended lyrics and dense, visually evocative production, with contributions by members of the band Jane In Space. In 2023, Paul released Never Sleep, a more personal and introspective EP dedicated to his late father Jack Feder.
Paul is currently releasing Paperclips, a single from his new AI-inspired EP, Echoes set for release later this summer.
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