Hi all,
It’s still quiet in the shops of Copenhagen this Monday. The last big festivals are fading into the background, and this coming week the city will buzz again. I’ve been thinking a lot about the changes happening right now: the saturation of content, the way AI is suddenly everywhere. Where does the human fit in the loop? What happens to music? Are we looking at a completely new category of art?
As someone who loves electronic music, I’ve always been drawn to Stockhausen’s vision — embracing every tone and texture, reflecting the complexity of the post-war world, where nothing is black and white. I know the frustration of the limits of an instrument. I felt it playing the violin — such a delicate, beautiful thing. I still love hearing a true maestro play it. But as a teenager, I needed something more intuitive, more open. Electronic music felt like a blank slate. Not weighed down by centuries of rules about what is “right” to play or compose. That freedom was everything.
I was also lucky to meet the legendary Else Marie Pade through Henrik Marstal while she was still alive. Such a huge inspiration. Fearless, curious — imagine she went straight to Stockhausen and Pierre Schaeffer, who were in the middle of their great debate about the sound of the new world: electronic music vs. musique concrète. Some describe it as a war, nothing less. And there she was, the quirky, joyful Dane, the first to combine the two — something that was seen almost as a crime at the time, but which foresaw the future we live in now, where everything is a mix of samples and synths and acoustic recordings. Henrik Marstal introduced her to me and is now writing a huge book about her, he is now also on Sleeve btw, I recommend you follow him for his beautiful ambient music and deep musical knowledge: Here.
Why tell this story? Because when technology changes, so does art. And I’m curious about what will rise from this moment. So far, Holly Herndon is one of the best examples I’ve seen of using AI creatively. But we’re also at a point where it’s easier than ever to be lazy. Which means we have to be more human than ever — to know ourselves, our taste, our intentions, and to make sure AI doesn’t take over our creative voice. Those who can channel that drive will be the ones to thrive in this new world.
Holly Herndon’s Frontier is built almost entirely from samples of her own voice, layered and processed into a choral, otherworldly soundscape. She trained an AI “vocal clone” called Spawn on her voice, then used it to create harmonies and textures that feel both human and alien — blurring the line between singer and machine.
And then there’s the thing that can’t be replaced. Most of the musicians on Sleeve are out there playing concerts, moving people, meeting people, giving sound to emotions that can’t be expressed otherwise. I believe that presence — the genuine, in-the-room connection — will become more scarce, and more valuable than ever.
Speaking of presence… we’re launching a new livestreaming feature on Sleeve. To celebrate, I’m hosting a live webinar: Why Newsletters Can Future-Proof Musicians. I’ll also be showing what our livestream format can do, and (hopefully) sparking a bit of inspiration. I’ll share why I think building a newsletter might be the most underrated career move an artist can make right now.
Join me on Tuesday, August 19th at 20:30 CET — timed so both European and US friends can tune in. If you have questions or specific topics you want me to cover, send them my way.
And tell me — which artist would you love to see on Sleeve? I’ll promise to try to get them ;)
Stay tuned,
Anna