''Proto'' (stylized in
all caps
In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in ...
) 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. 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
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...
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