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Ancient Psychic Triple Hyper Octopus — Put Emojis on My Grave
(Bandcamp Not Applicable no#, 2025, DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2025-07-26

Put Emojis on My Grave Cover art

Among researchers who study machine learning and large language models, “model collapse” is a term referring to what happens when systems are trained using the output of other systems without any curation to assure the quality of the input. I bring this up in reference to this album by a group called Ancient Psychic Triple Hyper Octopus (a name which itself sounds like the product of such a system) because the music is imagined as a response to model collapse, specifically in the case where systems designed to create music are based solely on the outputs of other systems designed to create music rather than music created by humans. The scenario is detailed in liner notes that are quite entertaining (to me at least, being a bit of a science fiction and tech nerd). Imagine a world where virtually all of the music, graphics, and fiction is produced by models that have no human input, and then imagine human musicians creating music in response to that, building an aesthetic around the glitches of these systems. Or you could just listen to Put Emojis on My Grave and find yourself in a very strange sound-world of weird electronics, percussion, and trumpet that floats along without rhyme or reason, but manifests as a fascinating journey. The perpetrators of this experiment are Alex Bonney (trumpet, bass recorder, Strohviol), Will Glaser (drums and percussion), and Isambard Khroustaliov (aka Sam Britton, electronics). Setting aside the conceptual underpinning, the music is free improvisation lacking themes or structure, but it’s not abrasive or harsh, generally remaining in subtler territory. Khroustaliov’s electronics twitter, sweep, and blip, and Glaser never approaches anything like a tempo, using his drums and other objects as colorful noisemakers. Free improv may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I find Ancient Psychic Triple Hyper Octopus continuously engaging and entertaining in a very playful way.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Ancient Psychic Triple Hyper Octopus

More info
http://not-applicable.bandcamp.com/album/put-emojis-on-my-grave

 

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