Indie rock collective Broken Social Scene have released a new psychedelic music video and track entitled “Can’t Find My Heart,” which visually channel the a-ha classic ” Take On Me.” Directed by Josh Usheroff, the visual utilizes AI programs and machine learning crafted by Alex Mordvintsev, a pioneer in neural network generated visuals and creator of Google’s DeepDream, which utilizes his programs and footage of the group’s performances.
The music video shows the band in several animated sequences, with a style that captures the spirit of “Take On Me,” by a-ha. The track shows the band venturing into psychedelic territory, with pounding basslines and upbeat synthesizers that perfectly match these trippy visuals.
“I am fascinated by the changes that AI and machine learning are bringing to all aspects of our culture. I wanted to see how this technology was being used in more creative disciplines,” explains Usheroff. “I started researching generative art and came across a video by Alex Mordvintsev. The video featured a series of still images zooming and transforming into one another. The results were mesmerizing.”
Mordvintsex described the process as follows:
“The video effect is based on combining neural artistic style transfer with a zooming feedback loop. I gradually inject each new video clip into the mix, while simultaneously steering the global image style. Each video segment is a continuation of the previous, so I couldn’t generate them all in parallel. Thus, I decided to use “fast” feed-forward version of style transfer to be able to iterate quickly on the sequence, incorporating the feedback I was provided from Josh and Ben.”
Check out our reviews of their performance at The Fonda earlier this year, along with their projects Let’s Try The After (Vol. 2) and Hug Of Thunder.
Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Schultz
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