Anthony Gonzalez of M83 laments the success of ‘Midnight City’
In 2011, M83 reached the height of their career with the smash hit, ‘Midnight City’. The intense synth-driven storm of a single is a regular feature of television soundtracks and personal playlists. Still, it turns out that Anthony Gonzalez, the band’s only constant member, isn’t particularly contented with the legacy that the hit has bestowed upon him.
In a new interview with Consequence, the mercurial musician revealed that, while he doesn’t despise the track, its impact on his subsequent career, in terms of expectations, was unfavourable. “For me, the struggle with being a successful artist with that album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, and especially with that track, ‘Midnight City’, is that all of a sudden, I had this huge EDM following,” he explained.
The problem, according to Gonzalez, was that “EDM is probably one of the styles of music that I hate the most. All of a sudden, I have these bro EDM DJs playing my music, and I just can’t even care less. Sometimes I wish that I could erase that fanbase, but I don’t think it’s possible to do that.”
Continuing, Gonzalez joked that with exponential tech evolution, “maybe in a few days, there’ll be some apps that can do this.”
“I feel like now we’re in the era of artificial intelligence in art,” he says. “On Instagram, I started to look at some artists, and I came across a couple of artists’ songs, and I thought, ‘Wow, this is probably the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in a long time,’ and I didn’t know anything about AI, it was just a few months ago. Then I discovered that everything was computer generated, and the feeling I had, knowing that I thought it was probably the best thing I’ve ever seen in years, and knowing that it was not human in a sense (or barely human), I had a strange feeling of a void in my stomach and guts. I felt like, ‘Is it the beginning of the end?'”
Although, it appears that AI will never be able to replace human creativity, which is at the heart of music and crucial to the enjoyment of music. “To me, being able to gather in a room with musicians, put a lot of sweat in an album…. Creation is crucial,” he added.
M83’s new album Fantasy has arrived today, with a dreamy, guitar-driven vibe bringing much to enjoy. “To me, I truly believe that this Fantasy album is probably like the beginning of the next chapter of my career, and I am truly excited about what’s next,” Gonzalez commented on the new album.
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