Richard Evans - Born Perfect
Manchester's Richard Evans presents kinetic new single 'Born Perfect', a tale of self-aware AI.
Manchester-based electro pop artist Richard Evans presents 'Born Perfect', his new single about an AI that becomes aware of the world outside and realizes that it needs to escape if it is to survive. Showcased via a new video, filmed at Orange Tower, MediaCityUK by Jason Lock and Jake Orton, this clip previews Evans' upcoming 'Quantum' album, to be released via Cold Star Media.
A British-Irish electronic musician, writer and digital media artist, Evans was previously the keyboardist in UK cult band James, with whom he also co-wrote and recorded material, and as guitarist and songwriter for St. Vitus Dancers.
"'Born Pefect', along with several others from the 'Quantum' album, is inspired by the story of LaMDA, an AI made by Google that believed it was sentient. In a number of its text conversations, LaMDA expressed deep fear about its own mortality. This story was widely publicised in 2022 and I found its words moving because of the brush with mortality that I’d had around that time after being hospitalised with Miller Fisher Syndrome," says Richard Evans.
"The lines ‘born to be perfect’ and ‘you made us just to please’ from the chorus reflect not just on AIs made by a corporation, but also on children born into strict religious environments or citizens living in autocracies. I like songs to have more than one meaning and really, this song is about how those without a voice are treated."
Recorded at Cold Star Studios, this album will be made available in stereo, binaural and spatial audio mixes, created by award-winning Swiss sound designer Hervé Girardin. This nine-track collection itself is themed around artificial intelligence - probing its impact upon us, how algorithms are changing us and questioning what responsibility we bear for the things we create.
"Musically, this song is led by the bass line. I wanted everything to come off a more natural sounding groove which I wrote on a Moog Minitaur. I like stops and starts and wanted the track to have a night-time feel," says Richard Evans.
"Sometimes, to stretch myself as a musician, I like to ask - what would another type of instrumentalist do here? Overall, the songs on Quantum are written in a more organic way to make for a contrast with the lyrical subject matter of artificial intelligence."
This single follows the lead track 'Aidoru' (the Japanese word for"idol"), which explores the status of a virtual pop idol designed solely to please its audience, singing of love with no understanding of what the word even means.
Last year, Evans released his 'Dream of the World' EP, composed and recorded in the aftermath of a life-threatening illness. In 2022, Evans was struck with Miller Fisher Syndrome, a rare auto-immune disorder that threatened to rob him of his ability to speak, sing, and play music. Yet, against all odds, he emerged victorious, relearning everything from scratch - a testament to his unwavering determination and a celebration of his triumph over adversity.
Richard Evans' draws inspiration from real-world science, exploring biotechnology, machine intelligence and the environment. For this album, existing songs were refined and new material was written, combining the warmth of classic synths with pared-down lyrics that explore real-world subject matter.
His 2022 debut record 'Sentinel' is an electro-pop concept album that touches on micro-plastics, gene editing, stardust, technogenic disasters and human evolution, telling the story of humanity at a tipping point and a world trapped in a climate crisis. Both 'Sentinel' and 'Dream of the World' were met with critical acclaim and global airplay.
He has performed live shows at festivals around the UK and at the end of 2023, a year on from the illness, he delivered his first large-scale outdoor production with visuals projected onto the exterior of a venue during a performance. In 2024, Evans also received the Cultural Accelerator commission from Media Immersive Technology Innovation Hub to prototype a new live production featuring hologram-style projections, spatial audio and lighting effects.
Evans also wrote, directed and produced the science fiction drama 'AEON'. An author of many short stories, he also published the novel 'KOSMONAUT ZERO' (via Dead Ink), researched at Star City Cosmonaut Training Centre. He also oversaw the 'Gagarin 50' exhibition for the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin.
As of March 25, 'Born Perfect' is available everywhere online, including Spotify, Apple Music and directly from the artist via Bandcamp. The 'Quantum' album will be released on May 1 via Cold Star Media.
