The singularity is near!  Ray Kurzweil’s book of the same name describes a time where human’s will transcend biology, and listening to “Wilderness” made me conscious of where music sits in relation to this revolutionary precipice.  In some ways there is nothing fresh about Active Child’s production - vocals backed by an electronic beat began several decades ago.  On the other hand, there is something very new about the ease and availability of technology and where it is leading us.  A project like Active Child can simultaneously sound lo and hi-fi.  The lo-fi element comes from the warmth of analog.  It’s why human’s gravitate towards vinyl, Bob Dylan and Daniel Johnston.  We want that hiss and pop and human inflection.  The hi-fi production comes from the immense technological resources at our fingertips.  A studio full of equipment is now available with one click of the mouse.  And it’s finally real. We’ve reached that tipping point.  What’s emerged from this are a group of artists (Memory Tapes, Active Child, new Animal Collective, Neon Indian etc…) who give technology an analog heart.  The days of “Drum Machines Have No Souls” bumper stickers are over.

So where does that leave Active Child. On the surface Pat Grossi’s project is a dubby, basement producer’s take on Grizzly Bear.  It’s lo-fi in all the right places, but facilitated by technology’s democratizing presence.

[mediafire] Active Child - Wilderness

The premise of Interview Magazine has stayed the same since the days of Warhol - it’s all about matchmaking.  Most publications focus solely on the subject, but Interview works to keep the art of dialogue alive by placing as much thought into the selection of the interviewer as the interviewee.  For this pairing, long time critic and host of KCRW’s The Treatment, Elvis Mitchell, sits down for an afternoon with the one and only Jay-Z.  Click here to witness the magic.