Research, analyse, and critically discuss how ‘miss Anthropocene’ by Grimes utilises creative music technology to shape sound.
The concept album miss Anthropocene, released in 2020 by Grimes, blends themes of dark pop and techno styles in order to anthropomorphise the idea of climate change. Compared to Grimes’s previous releases such as Art Angels, this album makes a shift in her discography from more upbeat, vibrant and ethereal themes to the darker and dystopian feel of miss anthropocene.
Grimes is best known for her self produced music, with experimental approaches to sounds in order to create music with its core character being technology. In an interview for Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 radio show Grimes says – that “it’s never quite as creative” working with other artists, “because you try really embarrassing stuff when you’re by yourself”. This method of experimental and somewhat ‘embarrassing’ approach to digital production and music technology works to create a final product that pushes the boundaries of conventional pop music. This “DIY” approach sets her apart from mainstream pop musicians and also highlights how the rise in accessible digital tools is reshaping the music industry to be a more versatile and attainable platform. By using DAWs, Grimes is able to maintain full control of her creative processes, without commercial pressure or limitations to ideas, allowing her to create unfiltered artistic visions, like miss anthropocene
In response to a fan on twitter, Grimes stated that she uses the DAW system Ableton Live, which alongside her love of plugins in which she expressed through a twitter/ X post “Plugins have entirely restored my love of music and also music production,” these features combined helps support the deep sound manipulation in her albums and live performances.
Throughout miss anthropence grimes uses heavy automation to morph textures and filter sweeps in a striking and illustrated way, which is a crucial component of tracks like ‘so heavy I fell through the earth’. Her use of layering and automation makes way for imagery of emotional descent through the dissolving and reemergence of synths. Songs in the album like ‘delete forever’ use auto-tune within acoustic sounds, blurring the line between human and technology, which fits within the theme of the album, with Grimes saying in article for pitchfork in 2019 that “Each song will be a different embodiment of human extinction” with this blend of nature and technology, perhaps being an allusion to the idea of “potential enslavement/destruction at the hands of Artificial General intelligence.” –pitchfork 2019
Grimes also heavily processes her vocals beyond recognition, this is creative decision on the artists behalf to enhance the narrative roles. Back in 2011 she told LIz Armstrong for an article for The Fader “I feel like the human voice is to music what portraiture is to painting,” she says. With the article adding ‘Her voice is like a creepy but adorable child’s in a horror film set to assaultive beats and sci-fi synthesizers, a strangely beautiful combination.’
On the track “4ÆM”, her used of layered, pitch-shifted harmonies makes the vocals seem more like an addition to the instrumental texture of the song rather than the lyrical focal point. In tracks like ‘violence’ Grimes uses techniques such as formant shifting, a technique in audio processing that modifies the formants of a sound, making it sound like a different person. This paired with reverb portrays the voice of the song as non-human or alien-like- a common theme amongst Grimes’s creations. Throughout the tracks Grimes utilises autotune as a way of highlighting artificiality rather than to mask flaws in vocals, this again adds to the dystopian concept of the album.
Grimes relies on virtual synthesisers, samples and experimental sound design to construct her albums. Tracks such as ‘darkseid’ she breaks audio into fragments using granular synthesis, which is a method that breaks down audio into tiny segments called “grains,” typically 1 to 100 milliseconds long, and then manipulates and recombines these grains to create new sounds and textures, adding to the chaos and ominous feel to the song, this paired with the cyberpunk style of harsh percussive hits and distorted bass, creates an idea of digital decay, again showcasing the apocalyptic vision of AI, this is seen especially in ‘darkseid’ and ‘my name is dark. Grimes incorporates various samples to evoke a sense of ecological decline with environmental and industrial elements, using sounds of metal and rubber, ethereal screams, factory clangs which creates the atmosphere of industrial deterioration of the planet. Grimes describes the sound of the album as “ethereal nu metal,” – pitchfork, with the track ‘delete forever’ showcasing the ethereal side of the album, with an exploration of dream folk characterised by vocals and acoustic instruments. Grimes enhances the global appeal through collaborating with asian-speaking artists. ‘Darkseid’ features Taiwanese rapper 潘PAN, adding a layer of cultural diversity to the album, expanding on the global concept.
What makes miss Anthropocene clever is how Grimes uses music technology to encapsulate a narrative, almost like storytelling, rather than utilising digital production purely for decorative accessories to music. In the album the theme of climate collapse is presented through textural noise and samples that simulate destruction, such as low-end rumble, crucial for the bass sound and rhythm, and ambient decay, a key element in creating an atmospheric and ethereal quality. Again themes of AI are explored through robotic vocals, and heavy use of autotune. Many other themes are portrayed through the use of technology and production, such as alienation, using spatial reverb which is an effect that manipulates the perceived location and distance of a sound, then with the addition of grimes’s vocal detachment, in which is the ability to separate emotional attachment from your voice to achieve a desired sound, exaggerates the sense of isolation from the instruments and on a deeper level, its enhances the music’s feel of isolation and disillusionment from the present day, transporting the listener to an apocalyptic, dystopian ideation of the future.
WIth an album as experimental, and ‘DIY’ produced as miss anthropocene understandably comes with mixed reviews. The music that grimes creates challenges listeners used to more structured and conventional pop with abstract and unorthodox artistic approaches. A review by Alexis Petridis for the guardian stated, ‘Not all the musical experiments work. The Bollywood samples, bursts of lock-stepped drum’n’bass and one-note chorus of 4AM are more annoying than intriguing’ and ‘it often feels like the only thing preventing it from collapsing entirely is the rhythm track.’. The review the goes on to critique the albums ability for mainstream success by highlighting that with the buried vocals it felt more like a personal project than something made for an audience- ‘Her vocals are so regularly smeared or buried you feel as if you’re straining to eavesdrop’ – ‘Miss Anthropocene seems a more personal project than its advance billing suggests’. Another review stated that ‘Maybe I am not a dark enough person to totally “get it” (my favourite pop star is Carly Rae Jepson) but all in all its a good LP if you just listen to the music for what it is.’- Bridie Chetwin-kelly for ambient light. The album explores themes of climate collapse, artificial intelligence, and emotional alienation. Grimes told the wall street journal ‘I want to make climate change fun’, which added to the backlash of the album. she went on to add that- “People don’t care about it (climate change), because we’re being guilted. I see the polar bear and want to kill myself. No one wants to look at it, you know? I want to make a reason to look at it. I want to make it beautiful.” Pitchfork article commented that, ‘rendering climate crisis as dystopian aesthetic is privileged and indulgent,’. With the title being a play on the idea of misanthropic, expressing a loss of faith in humanity, as a result of the world state. This and the heavy use of artificial intelligence to demonise and create the idea of destruction at the hands of AI, builds a feeling of irony around the album. Titling an album using word play to combine the words misanthrope and anthropocene, which Grimes herself states in an interview with Pitchfork, with an aim of adding beauty to destruction, the album as a whole, from the tracks, the title, the themes and even the art in which for the same interview she described as “if the new gods were building the simulation”,”this is the program the gods would use”, is a confusing concept, which added to the negative reviews. The approach to each of the themes in the album led to labeling grimes as detached from reality or more colloquially ‘living with her head in the clouds’ with pitchfork adding ‘like many of her celebrity ilk, is cordoned off in a bubble floating above the rest of humanity’, ‘standing in the way of Miss Anthropocene offering genuine catharsis’. Despite the negative press of the album, with just a three star review on rolling stone, the concept album was not misunderstood by all, with a review written by Anupa Mistry for pitchfork stating ‘Her genuineness shines through the album’s convoluted narrative, and the songs are among her finest.’. Amongst the mixed reviews, it is hard to discredit the emotion building and cinematic production choices of the album, grimes embraces artificiality rather than hiding behind it, which is now a common occurrence in modern music. She is a self taught producer and performer, making waves with technical innovation.
Miss Anthropocene showcases the effect that creative music technology can have to progress and push the boundaries of conventional pop music. Through the use of accessible tools like DAWs, plugins, and basic vocal manipulation, Grimes has been able to build a progression of tracks that come together in the form of this controversial album. In the future it is likely that miss anthropocene will remain one of grimes’s most polarising albums. Despite its innovation and complexity, it has been actively critiqued for its experimental excess, and tendentious message on climate change. Whether in time it ages well, is dependent on how future audiences progress with the themes it explores- climate crisis, AI, etc. It is a possibility that as society is shaped by both environmental challenges and digital progressions, the album could gain more relevance and not be seen as in poor taste, but rather an ambitious but flawed mirror of its time. However you view the themes within the album, miss anthropocene exemplifies how creative music technology can be utilised to shape sound and emotion. The free and limitless approach to producing using DAWs, formant shifting, automation, granular synthesis, Grimes has created an innovative soundscape that doesn’t rely on technology for surface level enhancements but uses it to its full potential. By embedding texture, distortion and artificiality into the sounds Grimes is able to create eerie imagery, and cinematic aesthetics to each track. Grimes has spotlighted the potential that self-produced music can have to express artistic visions freely, without industry input.
Furthermore, an article titled “Sisters, not twins: exploring artistic control and anthropomorphism through composing with a bespoke generative AI” published in AI & Society, discusses the launch of grimes’ AI platform, elf.tech. This integration of AI into music, with users of the platform being able to use a voce model generated from grimes’ vocal data, again displays the change and drive toward the use of technology in music production, with grimes paving the way. this article also provides a critical perspective on the use of AI as ‘tool or instrument’ rather than a collaboration which is a key element to Grimes’ work.
Bibliography:
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