Der audiovisuelle Künstler Lawrence Lek bringt Ende November den Soundtrack zu seinem semidokumentarischen Animationsfilm AIDOL bei Hyperdub heraus. Der Film ist Teil einer als Videoessay verstandenen “sino-futuristischen” Reihe, in der es um Stereotypen über die chinesische Gesellschaft und eine in China entwickelte AI-Technologie geht. Im Zentrum der rein synthetisch erzeugten Musik stehen die Vocals der Protagonistin des Films, die mit einem Vocaloid-Synthesizer produziert wurden und eine etherisch-schöne und zugleich verstörende Aura entstehen lassen. Das Album erscheint Ende November auf einer limitierten USB-Karte und Mitte Dezember auf Vinyl.
“AIDOL is a CGI fantasy that tells the story of a fading superstar, Diva, who enlists an aspiring AI songwriter to mount a comeback performance at the 2065 eSports Olympic finale. Set in a realm of spectacular architecture, sentient drones and snow-deluged jungles, AIDOL revolves around the long and evolving struggle between humanity and Artificial Intelligence. Fame – in all its allure and emptiness – is set against the contradictions of a post-AI world, where originality is just an algorithmic trick and machines have the capacity for love and suffering. The result is a shifting and seductive virtual reality, punctuated by Diva’s songs and the voice of Kode9 as the unforgiving label boss. The film renders this future society as a world that exists both as a shimmering utopia and as an automated dystopia.
Lawrence’s soundtrack is a delicate lattice; complex, opaque and entirely synthetic. Diva’s yearning vocals, sung in English and Mandarin, cast classical melodies over billowing, intricately arranged songs. Her voice is created with a Vocaloid voice synthesiser, giving it an uncanny feeling. Her confessional lyrics draw empathy from the listener, as she reveals her fears of becoming an irrelevant influencer, obsolete in a machine-driven age. The instrumental tracks of the album, produced together with composer Seth Scott, are elegiac and beautiful, hybridising the classic film score, folding in patterns from game soundtracks, vaporwave, and ambient fourth world music.” (Hyperdub)