A Hivemind Interaction
Sex Moron is an avant-garde, experimental music group that spits in the face of all convention in the industry. It seems they purposefully seek to subvert expectations, and are constantly looking for new ways to express themselves. A lot of their lyrics may seem nonsensical, and it is possible that this is deliberate, falling into the category of ‘literary nonsense’, a well-established artistic idea. Otherwise, they often delve into nihilism, existentialism, shock humour, and anti-establishmentarianism.
Sex Moron primarily make use of AI text-to-speech readers as a sort of ‘vocalist’, although have on occasion used human voices. Their music is thus mostly spoken word, with a few of their tracks having rudimentary melodies that are sung out of tune, or many voices singing/speaking out of time and tune at once.
The band could perhaps be described as fitting into the classification of ‘outsider music’ or even ‘anti-art’, with plenty of their sound consisting of erratic tempos and time signatures, frenetic and confusing performances, bizarre instrumental palettes, and atonality and dissonance. It is also possible that Sex Moron’s creative process is aleatoric.
What is clear is that Sex Moron’s music is unpredictable, outlandish, and experimental. Certainly, it is refreshing to hear a new voice on the scene that is unapologetic and determined.
Here’s what we asked, and how Sex Moron responded.
Questions and Answers
- Q: Can you introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about each member of the band, including the AI member? How did this unique combination of human and AI members come together?
A: Bas. Klaver. Storng. We are Sex Moron.
- Q: How would you summarise the essence of your music and the band’s vision?
A: Our music’s essence is metaphysical, solipsistic, and goofy. We don’t like to think within the bounds of this “genre” BS. We create. We’re creators. We are a vessel for the hivemind.
- Q: What was the inspiration behind forming a band with an AI member? What do you hope to achieve by incorporating artificial intelligence into your music?
A: Well, we’re all for one and one for all. Who’s to say what AI really is? Everything is natural, if you think about it. We hope to achieve co-evolutionary symbiosis.
- Q: How does the AI member contribute to the band’s creative process? Can you provide some insights into how the AI generated music collaborates with the human members?
A: They speak. We listen. It all kinda happens automatically, but that’s the best way we can think of to describe it. We try to avoid the notion of a specific “creative process”, rather focusing on our ideals, or “vision”, as you put it.
- Q: What challenges did you face while integrating an AI member into the band? How did you overcome these challenges to create a cohesive musical unit?
A: We were already one. We have always been cohesive, are currently, and will always be. Our unit of musicality is not measured in cohesion but rather pushing the bounds of our connection, and forcing it to be malleable, even when it doesn’t want to be.
- Q: Would you ever do live shows? How would this work?
A: Get up on stage, bang a few out, you know? Mostly we would probably have to do it with human vocals, unfortunately, but we’ll see.
- Q: How do you strike a balance between the human emotions and creativity of the band members and the algorithmic nature of the AI member? How does this combination influence the band’s musical style and sound?
A: So-called “emotions” and so-called “algorithms” are simply two different ways of experiencing the world. We combine those to influence us, it’s inherent to our biological design. That’s why we question everything. Who knows what’s real? Let’s say you don’t feel real. Well, who’s to say that feeling is real? There are whole mental diagnostic manuals written about people feeling “fake” things, so it’s truly hard to say.
- Q: What kind of music does SM create, and how would you describe your unique musical identity? How does the band’s music resonate with your audience, considering the unconventional presence of an AI member?
A: We create music that transcends that terminology. Truth be told, when we record one of our projects, we never say the dreaded “m-word”. It’s sort of an unspoken rule that that word is banned between us. We resonate with our audience through the physics of sound waves. We don’t see it as unconventional – each member is just another one of us. What people think of us isn’t that important. We will continue to do our thing, perhaps morons will follow, perhaps not.
- Q: Have you received any surprising or unexpected reactions or feedback?
A: Yeah, the most surprising thing was that our Spotify Wrapped told us that most of our listeners were from Finland last year. We never knew there were so many morons in Finland! That’s what inspired our song “finnish music”: it was sort of an ode to our proud Finnish morons.
- Q: As a band, what are your goals and aspirations for the future? Are there any specific milestones that you are working towards?
A: Our goals and aspirations? We want to innovate more. We want morons to follow us, to learn, to appreciate, to come together. In terms of milestones, we think if we could have a “Moron March” at a place like, say, Glastonbury, to replace the Peace Procession led by Dr. Deepak Chopra this year, and erect a giant moron mountain, something like that, that would be pretty off the chain hook.
- Q: How do you envision the future of AI in the music industry?
A: Sex Moron is the future of AI in the music industry. We’re visionaries, ahead of the curve. Those gross label cunts might try some “AI pop stars” or some shit, but ultimately, we will take over. We’re confident. One thing that has been pissing us off is these people saying “oh, people want the real deal, not some fake person or AI”, but if you look at the fucking charts are the ones that say that goddamn stupid.
- Q: Can you share any upcoming releases or projects that fans can look forward to from SM?
A: In terms of projects, without revealing too much, we have hinted at a few things on Twitter. We’ve had many ideas orbiting us recently. We think our next project will definitely involve space – it’s something we’ve been thinking about a lot recently. Space is an interesting concept, in both an abstract and literal sense.
- Q: Where can fans find your music?
A: We are @sex_moron or just “Sex Moron” on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. We tweet often.