Holly Herndon Announces New Album 'PROTO' + Shares Single 'Eternal'

US electronic innovator Holly Herndon has announced the upcoming release of PROTO, her first studio album since 2015's Platform, and has added to the intrigue with a powerful new audio-visual work titled 'Eternal'. Directed by Mathew Dryhurst, the clip teams Herndon's intense sonics with manipulated footage of the artist strapped into an interface with her own artificial intelligence creation named Spawn, who also "collaborated" with the artist on the new album and her recent single ‘Godmother (feat. Spawn)’. The process-driven video is constructed using footage of Spawn "analysing and searching for a face," with the resulting effect charting territories ranging between euphoric, melodramatic and the sublime. PROTO will feature works created by a vocal ensemble with Herndon's A.I. creation, she spoke about the ideas explored with the boundary-pushing new record...

“There’s a pervasive narrative of technology as dehumanising... we stand in contrast to that. It’s not like we want to run away; we’re very much running towards it, but on our terms. Choosing to work with an ensemble of humans is part of our protocol. I don’t want to live in a world in which humans are automated off stage. I want an A.I. to be raised to appreciate and interact with that beauty.”

'PROTO' is out Friday 10th May via 4AD.