''Proto'' (stylized in
all caps) is the third studio album by American electronic musician
Holly Herndon
Holly Herndon (born 1980) is an American composer, musician, sound artist and sound designer based in Berlin, Germany. After studying composition at Stanford University and completing her Ph.D. at Stanford University's Center for Computer Resea ...
. It was released on May 10, 2019, via
4AD
4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name "Axis" (after the Hendrix album) by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD af ...
. It includes the singles "Godmother" and "Eternal", with the video of the latter accompanying the album announcement. The album was called a collaboration with an
AI named "Spawn" co-created by Herndon and Mat Dryhurst.
Background
The album was created in a collaboration with an
AI program named "Spawn", created by Herndon and Mat Dryhurst, and located in a "
DIY souped-up
gaming PC
A gaming computer or gaming PC is a personal computer specifically designed for playing video games at very high graphic and gameplay configurations. Gaming PCs typically differ from mainstream personal computers by using high-performance video ...
". It features "live vocal processing and timeless
folk singing
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
" with an "emphasis on alien song craft".
The album features "live training" sessions during which vocalists recruited by Herndon and Dryhurst would teach Spawn how to interpret sounds. Herndon has said that her aim is to make technology seem less "dehumanizing".
Track listing
Charts
References
External links
Official page
{{Authority control
2019 albums
Holly Herndon albums
4AD albums