Bi-Weekly-ish Newsletter #56 w/ 💫Hennessy💫, Meow Wolf💫, Ray Kurzweil💫, Suno vs. Udio💫 and Catatonic Youths💫.
AAAAAAnnnnnddddd I'm back. I guess it's safe to say that this bi-weekly newsletter, has become a completely-irregular-ly newsletter by now. This is due mainly to visiting the fantastic SXSW festival in early March, doing a road trip through Texas and New Mexico in late March, and spending all of April, until now, playing catch-up on people and projects.
With that said, the aim is to continue this newsletter as well as possible and send it out every other week with an update on the latest and greatest in music, tech, culture, and more music. Starting with this edition, featuring a great campaign by Wieden + Kennedy for Hennessy that utilized the Ringo platform, the amazing art-start-up-collective called Meow Wolf, an SXSW panel I had the privilege of seeing starring the O.G.-A.I.-G.O.D. Ray Kurzweil, the move 37 moment happening in A.I. en music creation with Suno V3 and Udio, and an Instagram page showcases the best of the worst in music made by humans.
As always, Enjoy.
1. Hennessy & All Sorts Of Things
Great work and great syncs—yes, syncs, five films with five different tracks—by Ringo user #002, Business Affairs Manager Michael Graves, at the Amsterdam office of creative powerhouse Wieden + Kennedy and music supervision companies King Lear Music & Sound and Mr Pape for Hennessy.
The campaign "Made for More" shows viewers new ways of mixing and enjoying brandy cocktails and introduces a lighter, fresher visual world for the legacy brand. All ads are directed by Andreas Nilsson at Biscuit Filmworks, showcasing his signature offbeat style and feature the British Nigerian actor Damson Idris and the American singer and actress Teyana Taylor. The ads also use unique tracks such as "Sports" by Viagra Boys and "Tchiki Tchiki Tchiki" by Make the Girl Dance (feat. Little Barrie).
One film is linked below, and the other four are here.
Good stuff!
2. Meow Wolf: A Journey Through Immersive Art
During my recent road trip, I had the opportunity to visit not one but two Meow Wolf exhibitions—one at the original location in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the other in Dallas, Texas. Meow Wolf, an arts and entertainment group formed in 2008 in Santa Fe, has evolved from a local art collective into a creator of large-scale, interactive, and immersive art installations.
The essence of Meow Wolf is its ability to transform mundane spaces into extraordinary experiences. With the support of lead investor George R.R. Martin (yes, the "Game of Thrones" author), the collective purchased an old bowling alley in Santa Fe and turned it into what can best be described as an amalgam of an escape room, a psychedelic trip, and a whimsical theme park. Their creations are maximalist environments that encourage visitor interaction, driving a mysterious and captivating narrative.
At both the Santa Fe and Dallas locations, visitors encounter a Victorian house where something mysterious has happened to the residing family. Discovering what occurred involves traversing through portals hidden in everyday objects like chimneys, fridges, and washing machines, leading to surreal worlds reminiscent of "Stranger Things'" The Upside Down. Here's a peek at what this fantastical experience looks like, with an obvious spoiler alert:
What sets Meow Wolf apart is not just the creativity of its installations but also its operational ethos. Vincent Kadlubek, one of its founders and former CEO, treated the collective like a startup, focusing on scaling the impact of its art. In the video below, he shares insights on transforming artistic passion into a sustainable business and the potential global expansion of Meow Wolf, which is already valued between $600 and $800 million.
While expansion poses challenges to maintaining quality, it's exciting to think about a world where imagination isn't limited to either theme parks or elite galleries and museums. Meow Wolf's approach redefines how art is experienced and how artists and art collectives can operate outside current art infrastructures.
3. The Singularity Is Nearer: A Glimpse into the Future with Ray Kurzweil at SXSW 2024
At this year's SXSW, I had the thrilling opportunity to both watch and briefly meet Ray Kurzweil ("meet" I saw him on the street and fan-boyed him), the pioneering thinker in artificial intelligence.
Over 25 years ago, Kurzweil made the bold prediction that by 2029, computers will achieve human-level intelligence, paving the way to solve some of humanity's biggest challenges and today, he believes we are on track to meet this milestone.
During his talk, Kurzweil detailed a future where, by the 2030s, AI will surpass human intelligence, leading to significant medical advances and potentially overcoming aging—a concept he passionately supports by suggesting that surviving the next five years could extend one's life by decades. By 2045, he envisions us connecting our brains directly to the cloud, exponentially enhancing our cognitive abilities and expanding our consciousness.
The full conversation, moderated by Nick Thompson of The Atlantic, dives deep into Kurzweil's insights on the exponential growth in technology (dubbed the "Kurzweil Curve"), the workings of the human brain versus AI, and the elusive nature of consciousness. He also discusses these advancements' ethical dimensions and transformative potential, especially in health and longevity.
For anyone interested in the intersections of technology, philosophy, and the future, this discussion is not to be missed. Watch the complete conversation below or this interview he did on the Joe Rogan podcast a day later if that's more your proverbial jam!
4. The Evolution of AI in Music: Suno V3 and Udio
In a recent installment of this by now completely-irregular newsletter, I discussed Suno V2, the leading text-to-music generator. Only a few weeks later, we're already witnessing another leap forward with the release of Suno V3 and a new competitor, Udio.
Both platforms are still in beta, yet they're making remarkable strides in the AI music landscape. Users input a text prompt, and the technology crafts impressively complex and aesthetically pleasing music. Udio is gaining attention for its exceptional output, arguably taking the lead in this race.
This moment could be described as the 'Move 37' moment for music and AI, referencing the famous move from AlphaGo, which demonstrated a profound and unexpected level of strategic and creative thinking in Go.
Similarly, AI in music shows capabilities that will soon surpass human expertise in the creative process, resulting in creative and original output. For example, the song "Space Dog" (linked below) exemplifies how AI can produce captivating musical top lines.
As is well known, these creative technological advancements aren't isolated to music. Image and video creation tools, which are about a year ahead in their development, are already integrated into software like Photoshop and are about to be merged into video editing software like Adobe Premiere.
This integration signifies a major shift: AI is transitioning from a standalone wonder to an essential plug-in within creative workflows, reshaping how we approach all forms of artistic expression, whether we're ready for it or not.
Check out the transformative potential of these tools for yourself here and here, listen to Space Dog below.
5. Catatonic Youths: A Hilarious Homage to Musical Misfires
While good music has its charms, there's something uniquely compelling about the hilariously bad. "Catatonic Youths" is an Instagram account that taps into this fascination by collecting some of the most awkward and cringe-worthy music performances from across the world wide internet.
The rise of social media has made creating, distributing, and sharing musical performances easier than ever, leading to an explosion in the quantity of delightfully terrible music clips. "Catatonic Youths" is a modern-day "epic fail" compilation, offering a blend of humor and horror that has attracted a substantial following. Fans of the account enjoy the eccentric and less polished side of creative expression, finding joy in the sheer absurdity of these efforts.
Expanding their reach, "Catatonic Youths" has recently launched a YouTube channel. Here, they share a compilation, a 'best of the worst' if you will, featuring (un)forgettable pieces from genres like emo, metalcore, and metal rap, including some misfires from Guns N' Roses themselves.
Alright.
Made it.
Have a great weekend.
Marcel