Backstage

What is Katstrophal Klang really? A look behind the scenes.

How it all started

My name is Marcel, I'm very enthusiastic about IT and AI. It all started when I used AI to generate songs for fun. It quickly became clear that the lyrics generated by AI weren't that good, so I wrote my own. On a whim, I thought: Why not create a virtual band and see what happens.

A creative experiment

Katastrophal Klang is a creative experiment. The band, their website, photos and songs were generated with AI - as far as possible. Only the lyrics were created without AI help. I took my time with the songs; it was important to me that they were as good as possible. The band members are AI-generated characters, with whose help I generated their statements and website content. I deliberately did not invest any time in the videos, web content, images, logo, etc. and took the first thing that the AI tools spat out. There is certainly more quality in it if you know more and invest more time.

Why I do this

It's not about profit for me. The merch shop is just a gag; releasing the songs on Spotify, Deezer and YouTube Music is just an attempt to see how far you can get. If these platforms really make a profit, I would donate to them. So it's not about the money, I just wanted to see how far you can get with the current tools (as of April 2024). I also like to let off steam creatively and I enjoy it. That's what it's about.

The effort

Thanks to AI tools, the time required is relatively short. The first version of the band's media presence (Facebook profile, Instagram account, YouTube channel, website) was quickly created in two evenings and one free afternoon.
Generating a song can take almost an entire evening.
This is quite a small effort and is largely thanks to AI tools.

Why punk?

I'm not a punk, I like different genres of music, one of them is punk rock. I play around with different genres when generating songs, the fact that it became a punk band was more or less a coincidence.

Is this political?

I personally have a political opinion. But this plays no role in the band's songs or media appearance - apart from the fact that they are pro-democracy, against violence and incitement, and for proven facts and against opinion-making and claims. But the political view doesn't have to play a role either. The songs are intentionally about people and their behavior - in other words, about things that have an effect without any political affiliation. Direct messages, in other words.

What about the dangers posed by AI?

Despite the playful approach to the project, I am also quite critical of the use of AI and see the challenges it poses for art, jobs, society and the environment. However, I am also convinced that AI will become an indispensable part of the world and therefore I think it is important to deal with the topic.

So what now?

I realize that an AI band with a merch shop, etc. doesn't really have much to do with "honest punk." I want to polarize and provoke with the band and encourage people to think and discuss. What does it mean when a single person can create an artificial band? What does AI do to people and to art? I think we need to ask ourselves questions like these so that we can find a good way to use the possibilities offered by this technology for our own benefit.

What is the goal?

I haven't set myself a fixed goal - I want to see how far it goes. I would be delighted if one of the songs could be heard on a radio station. It would also be great if a real band did a cover of one of the songs. That would be great! That would clearly show where the limits of AI are: people who inspire people cannot be replaced!