"AI Trash Empire" opens the EP with a modern reinvention of synth pop, blending 80s nostalgia with futurism and anxiety. The track combines analog synths with custom algorithms to digitally warp sounds, creating an atmosphere that feels hauntingly familiar yet undeniably futuristic. Think a warped Douglas Adams script narrating a video game from a time capsule in a parallel dimension—eerily nostalgic, yet deeply unsettling.
With its dreamy synths and infectious groove, the track could be mistaken for a classic 80s hit. But beneath the glossy surface, there's a darker undercurrent—the AI itself is speaking, almost like a well-meaning friend trying to console you, but with a tone that’s existentially satirical. It’s as if the AI is trying to reassure artists and DJs, while also subtly mocking their fear of obsolescence in a world being overtaken by automation: “They call me the Temu version of K- pop / I know you don’t want to lose all the years you invested into the sync button / Replaced by the push of a self-aware sync button.”
The AI speaks to the artists’ struggle, questioning the very tools that were once meant to empower creativity. The sync button—once the ultimate shortcut for artists—has now been replaced by a self-aware version, stripping away artistic control and reducing creativity to something mechanical and commodified. This AI’s voice simultaneously consoles and critiques, reflecting Clarian’s own inner conflict: "They know what you really want / but what is it that you’re really wanting?"
As the track unfolds, it becomes clear that this is not just a reflection on technology, but also a personal reckoning for Clarian. The song explores the years spent chasing industry metrics, making compromises and concessions in order to "make it," and ultimately burning out in their 30s. The AI’s voice becomes more like a lament for lost years, for compromised integrity in the pursuit of being validated. It speaks directly to the struggles of an artist in the digital age— where value is measured by numbers, likes, and streams, rather than artistic expression and authenticity.
"Search Recs" – The B-Side Anthem
The B-side, "Search Recs," takes a funkier, bass-driven turn, but maintains the gothic undertones that define Clarian’s sound. Here, the AI continues its existential commentary, but this time the focus is on the superficiality of the music industry and the overwhelming impact of streaming algorithms. The track highlights how the very tools that are supposed to help us discover new music, also tend to become gatekeepers to an echo chamber that only reinforces the same tracks, the same trends, and the same narratives.
In a self-reflective twist, Clarian critiques their own complicity in the system: “So many likes on Gram / Spent twenty on a necklace / Got it hot off Etsy”. The AI's voice here is mocking, but also sympathetic—a recognition of the superficiality and excess that Clarian pushed themself into. It’s a satirical exploration of how the industry rewards image over substance, how easy it is to get caught up in the noise of the digital world, and how, in the end, it leads to selling out just to survive.
The chorus of the song—“Record stores are like museums you can afford / Search recs got kids thinking the world has only five tracks”—drives home the point that the tools meant to create discovery have instead trapped us in a cycle of repetition, where we are only exposed to the same content, over and over again. It’s a critique of how streaming services have reduced the magic of music discovery to a mechanical process, with algorithms pushing the same tracks while leaving little room for innovation or authenticity.
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