‘Smart World’ is the third single taken from Snapped Ankles’ new album Hard Times Furious Dancing. The track explores the rise of AI in music via an imagined conversation between Brian Eno and the late Conny Plank. While both embraced tech which might once have been perceived as removing the human from the musical equation, in this conversation Eno is pro-AI and Plank is the sceptic.
“I figured Conny’s the one who’ll break first, and go ‘No, you’ve got to go the hard way around’,” Austin explains. “Eno will be more like, ‘Fuck yeah, let’s go! Let’s put our brains in a tub & post it to Mars!’”
The single is accompanied by a wholly unauthorised performance video featuring Plank and Eno, which raises more ethical questions than it answers. There’s also an illicit cameo by the late music journalist and cultural commentator Mark Fisher, who originated the term Hauntology, referenced in the song’s chorus. It’s probably best to watch it now, because it may not be online forever.
Hard Times Furious Dancing will be released March 28th. Pre-order/pre-save now.
Snapped Ankles are on tour in the UK and Europe from the beginning of March, including Fabric in London on May 15th. Full dates and tickets here.