Grimes has announced a new album ‘Psyopera’ with the dark new single ‘Accelerando’, and said that the record will not feature any songs about her ex Elon Musk.
The record will be the first from the experimental artist since 2020’s ‘Miss Anthropocene’ and was announced on social media with a cryptic video.
In the clip, Grimes starts with the message “Please wait patiently for the failure of the system” before speaking over the top, saying: “Welcome to the game” and talking about themes including God, Eden and artificial intelligence.
Check the video out below, which also showcases the surreal visuals Grimes has designed for the record.
While the theme of artificial intelligence is one crucial to the album, the singer has already assured fans that she has not used any AI to form the songs.
The first taster of the record is out now in the form of the dark and ravey track ‘Accelerando’, which Grimes has made in collaboration with VADAKIN and captures the harsh, intense energy expected across the full album.
As for the rest of the record, the artist has revealed that it will not feature any songs about her ex Elon Musk. The Canadian artist (real name Claire Boucher) shares three children with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO: X Æ A-Xii (aka Lil X), Exa Dark Sideræl Musk, and Techno Mechanicus (aka Tau). The two of them announced their split in September 2021, confirming that they had broken up after three years together but “still love each other”.
“I just didn’t want any of this to be about Elon,” she told the Swiftologist podcast when asked if that relationship inspired any of the songs on the album. She then went on to hint that the record could be split into two parts, with the second being “100 per cent personal”.
The official release date for ‘Psyopera’ has not been shared, but when it does come out it will be the first Grimes record to be shared on her own label, Nazgul Recording LLC.
Also in her interview on the Swiftologist podcast, Grimes said that the theme of AI was integral for the record because she thinks it is “very relevant” to modern life – but also admitted that she wishes she had “a bit more of the emotions on this side and a bit more computer on the other side”.
Earlier this year, Grimes hit out at labels for “now investing in AI” and using the technology to “use [an artists’] IP to literally recreate” them, and in 2024, she said the use of AI in music “will probably shape all minds going forward for the rest of time”.
Boucher and CreateSafe previously teamed up with Slipstream to make 200+ Grimes AI songs available for content creators to use on any platform, “opening up new horizons for artistic expression”.
