Harmonic 313 - When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence

Harmonic 313 (aka Mark Pitchard) released When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence back in February on Warp Records. Heavy on the synth-laden robotic beats, the album is a satisfying mix of Detroit techno, dubstep and instrumental hip-hop worthy of its title. It is essentially the soundtrack for when robots take over the human race, with track 4 proclaiming "Music is now a thing of the past", urging the listener to download a music substitute system.



While the design work was handled by Manuel Sepulveda, the HAL-esque cover uses a photo taken from the book Core Memory: A Visual Survey of Vintage Computers by San Fransisco-based photographer Mark Richards. It is an art book featuring portraits of vintage computers in the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley. Robert Scoble has a lengthy interview with Richards about the book here.



One of two tracks to feature vocals, "Battlestar", makes a Dilla connection by featuring rappers Phat Kat and Slum Village's Elzhi. The video for the track (below), Harmonic's first video, was created by Sixty40, an Australian design and animation studio led by Matt Taylor and Mark Simpson. It was shot stereoscopically using two cameras to create a sense of depth, much like those animated 3D photo gifs you see around the nternet. The video's also been nominated for an award by the Portable Film Festival.



Harmonic 313
Mark Richards
Core Memory @ Amazon.com
Core Memory @ Boing Boing
Manuel Sepulveda
Sixty40
Warp Records