Squarepusher × Z-MACHINES

[@sheamatthewfisher8148]

The robots are cool, but the musical composition of this is incredible. So much complex jazz knowledge being put into play by Tom. He's always been good, but you can tell he is at a really advanced level of musical awareness by now. The interplay between all of the harmonic changes and the intricate melodies and leads is impressive. And he still provides a great arrangement where you get a chorus and a simple, memorable melody on top to ground it all out.

[@derrickhappytree]

hell yeah dude, EXACTLY!!!!! tom jenkinson is a chill dude and badass musician, haven't seen this before but damn its fucking awesome, I wish there were more of this stuff, the other cool vid I liked was jaqapparatus by chris cunningham

[@janeway1111]

And what about the drums !?

[@btruj2507]

I could hear Alan Holdsworth influence towards the end!

[@CaptionerMike]

This shit is like a real human achievement, truly amazing. I love the Shoebalader One stuff with Tom Jenkinson and his live band. Squarepusher & Aphex Twin covers on organic drums are a great KZbin rabbithole to go down too :D

[@cedmo7857]

​@@CaptionerMikehecky yes, brobraham lincoln! afflecks twin and shoobaleedr won are the bestest musicians EVER

[@CertMediocre]

I, for one, welcome our progressive-rocking robot overlords.

[@ceef8688]

[crestfallen] Go, Squarepusher, go.

[@nikitaramera2251]

Nothing's better than having a robot playing the keyboard by shooting lasers from its eye.

[@meinerHeld]

i want that keyboard, and that eye.

[@Retrogamepak]

These robot musicians are pretty good, I wonder if they will go platinum.

[@f.f5771]

TheInterweb'sMaster ehh too expensive I think steel is fine

[@Youcantleavethisempty01]

more shots of the drummer STAT

[@JacobFrey]

THIS.

[@prestonparish]

the best part about this is that Jenkinson's 'voice' is completely recognizable despite the robot players. obviously arranging this project was no foreign task so of course it's brilliant.

[@liamaspinall6906]

This is most probably my most favourite pieces of music and probably will stay this way till squarepusher makes something even better.

[@andrewglover1862]

liam aspinall Oh its coming! I saw him live on 4/11/15...I cant wait to see the direction he takes.

[@theseakite2]

Could this robot be reprogrammed to beat this video's editor senseless? ;)

[@TheExplosiveGuy]

I was just about to say the same thing. I can't _stand_ those panning zoomed in 5 second shots repeating over and over and over. Just show the whole goddamn thing in one shot, at least once, without that horrible backlit glare. I don't have a clue what that thing looks like, and as amazing as the engineering is, I don't really care to now because of how awful the editing was. Ruined a potentially amazing video...

[@RiotinNewYorkSound]

Funny how everybody talks about the lack of "feeling". If there wouldnt be robots in this video i bet you all would cheer and say how great it is ;)

[@justinhunt1714]

I had no idea it was robots. I found the whole ep of it and had been enjoying it for days. Only now did I just discover what the deal is

[@diseasefaktory]

@@justinhunt1714 People seem to forget a human composed the piece. So what if robots have no feeling? They're just bringing the piece to life - pun intended.

[@ceef8688]

Everybody here is talking about robots, but nobody is willing to admit the genius of the composition!

[@TXFDA]

I think part of the thing isn't that "Can robots play emotional sounding music?" Because let's be honest, it can be programmed to do whatever you want. Including play emotional sounding music. The real question is, can a robot CREATE emotional sounding music on it's own, without human input? For me, that's the big thing. Getting a machine that can create it's own music. And that goes for anything creative. The hard part isn't making a machine that can play a song, or paint a picture, or whatever else. It's making a machine that's capable of creating the song, or picture on it's own, from it's own "imagination", or whatever passes for an imagination with a machine.

[@dusanpetrovic2329]

+TXF The question is, as a human being can we understand imagination of an machine? Humans need imagination to exist, but does machine need one?

[@GK051339]

+TXF That's the big question and the answer is YES. Artificial inteligence allows to create and to take decisions on its own, learning by doing, like a baby knowing the environment. Someday soon we'll have music created by this type of intelligence... The next question will be what are the limits of this new art of intelligence... they won't probably want just to be our slaves. It can be limited to avoid some questions, but they will look their own path with time.

[@Lomaxxx53]

+GK051339 Another question can be, What can be defined as "emotional music"? seeing as it's only defined by our subjective emotions and depending on which emotion is being transmited.

[@GK051339]

+Dixit Dominus Sorry I didn't see your answer. That's a very good question. What is an emotion? what is a mood? Perhaps this is just some type of drug that our brain produces changing the behavior of the huge network, and this hat just brought an advantage in the evolution... Emotions would be just a catalysator of the whole thing.

[@GK051339]

+Vince Petaccio Thanks Vince! I think it could be like you say. I hope that one day soon we can simulate huge networks to understand the ones we have. I would bet that emotions are a residue of the evolutions that wouldn't be automatically in an artificial intelligence. Most of our emotions are strongly connected with the sexuality and other human relations that machines wouldn't need. Just a thinking.

[@forestbrides]

Based on the comments so far, this actually seems to have scared a few people. Nice work Tom & co!

[@derrickhappytree]

ha nice work indeed :)

[@jab4207]

This is really very beautiful. When you embrace the variety of genres this draws from --polka-jazz, ambient jazz, influence of classic rock symphonies--and accept that music never has and never should have a proper definition, it's not hard to see that every gear and pump is just a vehicle for the musician's work.

[@StatikDynamikDubstep]

People put far too much emphasis on the performance rather than composition, and yet they wonder why music isn't like how it used to be. I like Squarepusher's concept. Robots or humans can perform this, but what matters is the music.

[@cornishalps9870]

Shame there aren't any people with 78 fingers though

[@cornishalps9870]

Or can play 22 drums at once

[@PhoeniX936]

This song is so powerful... It is like robots trying desperatly to sond like human but.. You can hear it's not played by human hand it is too perfect... even the solos are cold because of this perfection (in my humble view) But indeed it is truly a beautiful piece and you can feel how hard they try to sound like us

[@travisroe7607]

this song, so beautiful and complex. such melody, many harmony

[@debbygrupp6127]

This is of epic proportions. Truly, it is remarkable.

[@WickedFlameMaster]

These robots are able to play the instruments in no way a human possibly can. As eerie as it is, these robots can express their own style of music that we can't hear from the most talented musicians.

[@themonotropicguitarist]

I imagine the Terminators will need entertainment at some point so this seems like a great start for that

[@audiomainline]

Intriguingly brilliant, can't get enough of this...saved to playlist!

[@audiomainline]

...pretty funny how they got the heads of the robots to rock out too :)

[@zurichsee706]

yes

[@debbygrupp6127]

That subtle overlaying at 3:45 is incredibly well thought out. Brilliant!!

[@5thearth]

way too much focus on the guitar robot. I want to see the others!

[@Theak47forall]

This is brilliant, props to the guys behind this project.

[@MacksWolfMusic]

There's something very unsettling about this. I love it.

[@justinhunt1714]

This album is absolutely incredible. Came across it as an occasional enjoyer of square pusher. I just discovered it and had no idea about this concept and it being played by robots untill I tried to find more info on it just now

[@nicknco66]

It appeals for the moments we are engaged visually. Less so when I close my eyes. The achievement is amazing. You should share the programming interface for others to express themselves.

[@ornleifs]

Love this - full of interesting musical patterns that are quite innovative.

[@deanfranz]

So this guy didn't want to just use GarageBand?

[@Youcantleavethisempty01]

***** -___-

[@Youcantleavethisempty01]

The machines are using PICKS. I think you're confused. You're welcome.

[@Youcantleavethisempty01]

Can you be more specific? I want to make sure I'm not being pooped on here. Pretty sure it's not me.

[@bonkoloid]

Fuck people who use GarageBand. Boycott!

[@ShonnDaylee]

Why would anyone want to use Garageband?

[@RODRICK114WARLOCK]

as a mechanical engineer i find this to be AWESOME, also the music is very good, sounding futuristic. But as a guitarist i think the human touch and feeling to the instrument is always better!

[@drformalyst5222]

Great that we get to see and hear a bit of good old 35 century jazz!

[@elmermt]

The future holds many surprises ..

[@BevaBanzai]

Awesome, I really like the sound and feeling in the song.

[@KOPH6969]

Yes, this is Square stuff that we love. Thanx 2 Tom & this nice robots.

[@mdnnickb]

I love this song. It's in 6/4 too!

[@berngern]

I absolutely need a metal cover of this song.

[@prhapsisuppose]

Awesome composition

[@JeanAhmad]

The possibilities are endless on the production/creation front. It may still not sound "human" 100% but its close as hell ... and we are hearing stuff that has never been played live ... ever. this is amazing

[@JustinByrne]

Simply love Squarepusher.

[@DanieleGiorgino]

That was brilliant. I wanna see more of the drummer and keyboardist but that robot guitarist was shredding it.

[@thegreatgoddess9149]

I was searching for this video for so long! I remember watching this video as a teen and it had a huge impact on my taste in music. Finally I can sleep in peace :)

[@MouthlyKnives]

This is astounding. It really reminded me of his older stuff, I am so very excited!!

[@mmmmmmmmmmm10]

Breathtaking composition from Squarepusher and next level engineering from Zima Machines.

[@CynHicks]

A lot more nuances than I expected. Beautiful. Took me way too long to discover this.

[@SMCPneumatique]

Great work, thank you for using SMC Products on your robot !

[@Synthetic_Omniscience]

This is the Squarepusher I fell in love with!

[@stereoreservoir]

mind blowing piece and technological achievement. Just imagine if a composer like zappa would've had access to these robotic players with this massive range of performative capabilities. one day someone will do something like this. but for now this is plenty awesome and impressive. BRAVO YOU CRAZY SUNOFA

[@_JS96]

This is beautiful!

[@TKDWolf]

I'd love to hear Animals as Leaders play with this drummer.. heh xD

[@Deathshuck]

Jajaja! You read my mind, buddy.

[@summitthescale]

saying this is bad is like saying you know nothing about music. you not liking it is one thing, but saying it sucks is another.

[@MajorMcDoom]

Nope. I disagree. I think the machines are great, but I think the music sucks. It's way too repetitive.

[@summitthescale]

Major McDoom This is why we can't have nice things.

[@summitthescale]

Major McDoom did you even make it to the jazz mayhem part around the 2:50? seems to me like you only listened to the first minute and a half.

[@MajorMcDoom]

summitthescale Yes, I heard the whole thing. But there's enough repetition in the beginning to ruin the whole song for me. It was tiresome to listen to, and I wanted to rip my hair out. Music shouldn't do that to me. You're welcome to your opinion of course, but let me have mine. Not everyone's gonna have the same taste in music.

[@summitthescale]

Major McDoom Haha

[@macfelton]

Huh... perfect/ideal guitar timbre being perfectly quantized and polyharmonic beyond human possibility, completely free of error/buzz. Interesting project.

[@maxwelljay]

Beautiful, beautiful robots.

[@DoctorBlankenstein]

total effin game changer right here!

[@floydsghost]

I thought it was cool to see how mechanics can take a piece further then humanly possible.

[@nysMEnyd]

love this piece of music! the robot thing is really cool as well. must have taken a shit load of mechanics, calibrating and programming to make this happen. great work! =]

[@rufuspage6210]

Awesome! The middle bit sounds like John Mclaughlin!!

[@thisisheaven2488]

wow.... this is impressive. Is this what the world is really coming to?

[@WesleyAusten]

absolutely unique!

[@STRANGELOOPtv]

phenomenal

[@RonJoniak]

Robots will steal your jobs - Artist style. 2014

[@elvinjohnsuniega2672]

Animusic has brought to life.

[@ffgdcpzae]

Buckethead approves this band!

[@craighale3035]

Omg this is just way to good. satriani, vai, beck, move out of the way for Squarepusher × Z-MACHINES

[@whiterottenrabbit]

This. Is. AWESOME!

[@karlteigen8496]

This is absolutely BRILLIANT! Great art.

[@HideSeek_Soje111]

There's only one Squarepusher. I still love his unique sound.

[@uniformxii]

Amazing! More of this, please!!

[@iChronical]

Music Has The Right To Machines

[@meeptron1]

I wish they would program they to play through the fire and the flames!

[@RyanGialames]

Awesome!

[@jacquesbynens3816]

awestruck ....... only Squarepusher could do it.... only SP!

[@resonantconsciousness9248]

Wicked! I love Squarepusher!

[@randomanalogue]

This changed my life.

[@biodot88]

A real musician can still appreciate this and take something away from it feelings or not.

[@jwoody__]

Truly incredible, I'm speechless.

[@nialbm]

hahaha... what a legend.. always pushing things forward!

[@WAKAAN]

this is dope!

[@moonbird6677]

I love this. love it.

[@VelvetRazor]

I think this is scary, but also really amazing at the same time.

[@boodyaka]

I like this song.

[@andrewglover1862]

Engineering = Art

[@Ozrictentacles87]

Some of those time signatures are ridiculous

[@alejoromero]

Amazing, work of genius.

[@MrPrice1620]

I love the machines more than the music but what an amazing thing to build!!! SKILLS!!!! How to make, I don't know but ( the hydralic's and electronic's work so well and timed ) together must have took a while. I'd love to write some music to punch into the thing tho.

[@MrSickness6666]

amazing video only prob is i wish the lights where a little dimmer so i can see the robots playing :)

[@Alachia]

This is fascinating and haunting. Brings me to Lain and Ghost in the Shell like inquiries and possibilities to my mind. but...I think the question isn't whether or not robots could ever play emotionally engaging music or whether or not they are replacing humans. I don't think it's even a question to be asked. I think the real thing to take from experiments like these is that humans are using technology to create and express. It's nice to see technology used for purely artistic endeavors rather than the usual drone, combat, or manufacturing specs. So that you get to ask more interesting questions like how do you create music for a machine with 78 fingers, which can hit a note every eight milliseconds? Possibilities don't always have to be an exploration into the negative. I think it's more important to highlight our endeavors to keep creating even if it means we're experimenting with a squid-like robot drummer with 22 arm playing four times faster than any human ever could.

[@Barusamykosu]

They took our jobs! This is amazing.

[@danielm.6476]

Still amazing today

[@PierreRipplinger]

It becomes really interesting after 2:30 though the begining is nice but more conventional.

[@mantistoboggan6639]

This video reminds me of Austrian Death Machine's "Get To The Choppah!!" video. lol. Both are badass!

[@asnierkishcowboy]

I think it would be pretty interessting to have this robot/guitar machine attached to a midi keyboard. That could combine the playn skills of a pianist with the sound of a guitar.

[@tobiasvonhofsten]

Love through Machine

[@SamTandy]

Massively reminds me of Gentle Giant from about 2:20 onwards. Awesome.

[@brandoncolston8294]

Sounds amazing great job

[@AwesomeTingle]

There are many shots of the robots faces or the band as a whole and when there are it is dark and brief...

[@th3who777]

Amazing!!!

[@_Killkor]

Holy shit, why am I discovering this video only now? This is so cool.

[@manceraK]

Nice song! The beginning gives me Opeth vibes.

[@plex4560]

I'm into this.

[@tarquinnff3]

This is fantastic!

[@CRAZYSPIRIT100]

This is amazing.