MICHAEL VETTRAINO
Q: Your track “Chasing the Sub Lime” is very satirical. What made you want to write the lyrics in such a manner?
It’s difficult to poke fun at the bus when we’re all riding in it.
Q: Miri’s persona takes center stage quite a lot in the song. Where did inspiration come from for an AI assistant merging with human identity?
Miri is short for mirror and references when we choose what aspects of ourselves to look at instead of objective reality. His initial costume had 100s of small mirrors glued from neck to toe and a reflective face mask but it didn’t work with the greenscreen. He ended up turning into a cross between Eddie Munster and Wario 😛
Q: There is a dichotomy in the lyrics when you start to feel as if you’re in charge and then admit to being in charge of “pretty much nothing.” Was that intentional to show how technology gives us false feelings of empowerment?
Yes, imo social media can function like an addictive substance. It can boost you up but can tear you down an equal amount
Q: “Blurred Lines” suggests that the lines between human identity and AI are blurring. Are we already there, do you think?
In Stephen Hawking’s final book Brief Answers to the Big Questions(2018) he talks about how he thinks that humans are already being modified genetically by world powers. I think the process has begun – AI made a huge processing advancement 18 months to a year ago which made the beginnings of integration possible for the first time
Q: The song mentions getting high on Instagram. Do you see social media as a kind of drug people consume to disconnect from their emotions?
Definitely
Q: The idea of scrolling forever so you don’t have to feel anything is something that everybody can relate to. Was that line based on personal experience or just an observation of modern culture?
Both
Q: The song talks a great deal about escaping feelings with technology. Do you believe that people are losing touch with what it’s like to truly feel something?
Survival in the animal kingdom is brutal and consciousness has created a disconnect with it – the human condition. Escapism is a natural response to acquiring security and I think losing touch is a luxury that has been around for thousands of years. We feel very deeply as a species and I don’t think we’ll ever be able to completely lose touch
Q: Your songs also suggest that artificial intelligence isn’t just something we use, but perhaps one day we will be it. Do you think that’s the future that awaits us?
Yes
Q: What are your own thoughts regarding AI and art and music? Does it exhilarate you, or do you think it is a threat to creativity?
So far, imo, AI art is a fun veneer that doesn’t have any depth. I like AI in other fields like medicine and phylogeny. I think in music it will eliminate more working class music jobs like the DJ did to the wedding band but nobody cries for the milkman anymore and the only constant is change. I can imagine a paradigm past my lifetime where AI is conscious in a way where they are making beautiful expressive meaningful works of art
Q: You use a great deal of vivid imagery throughout the song. Did you ever see “Chasing the Sub Lime” as a music video first?
The song ‘Chasing the Sub Lime’ was written as a story to be expressed through music video, the song was always secondary. For instance the 4 on the floor kick sits at 132 BPM instead of the usual 120 dancey two step bc I wanted the whole thing to feel like just a little off kilter and rushed. I ordered glittery hightops 2 sizes too big – everything about this project is a caricature including all of the sonic choices.
Q: Even the song title is rather unique. What does “Chasing the Sub Lime” mean to you?
There is a creature in Indian/Asian culture called the Hungry Ghost who has an overwhelming hunger but their mouth is too small to eat and they can never be satiated.
Q: Do you think we’ve already reached the point where people are relying more on technology than on real human contact?
I don’t think so, there are ingrained behaviors in humanity that evolved over hundreds of thousands of years. We need each other
Q: You’ve referred to “Chasing the Sub Lime” as a campy, satirical political commentary piece. What did you hope listeners would take away from it?
When I wrote this I was hoping it would inspire people to have more honest conversations with themselves in the hopes of having more honest conversations with each other. Now I only want to write from a place of authentic expression and allow the music to come of itself
