Name: Proto
Brand: Holly Herndon

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

4AD0140CD

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2019-05-10

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

PIAS

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

191400014022

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Total Cap

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

4AD0140LP

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Black

[r13602993]

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191400014015

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1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

Artist

Holly Herndon

Genre GB

Electronic

Label GB

The influential 4AD label was started in 1980 by music enthusiasts Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent with financial help from Beggars Banquet, whose record store chain the pair worked for. Originally called Axis, they released an initial series of four 7" singles before finding out that the name Axis was already being used by another label. They quickly came up with a new name, 4AD, inspired by typography on a flyer announcing their releases. Under Ivo Watts-Russell's guidance, drawing influence from other UK indie labels such as Beggars Banquet, Postcard Records and Factory, 4AD quickly established a unique identity thanks to both the cover designs of Vaughan Oliver/v23 and the label's unique numbering system.

In 1992, 4AD entered a highly publicized Stateside distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records, opening offices in New York headed up by Robin Hurley. The label was largely run from California for most of the decade after Ivo Watts-Russell moved to Los Angeles in the mid-90s. In November 1999 it was announced that Martin Mills had taken over as chairman and relocated its HQ to London.

Decoding their unique numbering system reveals various formats like mail-order only releases (4AD), LPs (CAD), MP3 downloads (EAD), posters (FAD), videos (VAD) and more. The numeric portion of their catalog numbers

Holly Herndon is an American multi-disciplinary artist currently based in Berlin, Germany. She is known for her innovative and boundary-pushing approach to music and art. Drawing inspiration from a diverse range of genres, including electronic music, experimental pop, and avant-garde composition, *Herndon* creates immersive sonic landscapes that challenge traditional notions of sound.

With her unique blend of ethereal vocals, intricate production techniques, and cutting-edge technology, *Herndon* has established herself as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary music. Her critically acclaimed albums have garnered widespread praise for their thought-provoking themes and fearless exploration of new sonic territories.

Influenced by artists such as Oneohtrix Point Never, Laurel Halo, Aïsha Devi, and Julia Holter among others,*Herndon* pushes the boundaries of what it means to be a musician in the digital age. Through her use of custom software and live performance techniques, she blurs the line between human expression and machine intelligence.

Holly’s third full-length album Proto isn’t about A.I., but much of it was created in collaboration with her own A.I. ‘baby’, Spawn. For the album, she assembled a contemporary ensemble of vocalists, developers and an inhuman intelligence housed in a DIY souped-up gaming PC to create a record that encompasses live vocal processing and timeless folk singing, and places an emphasis on alien song craft and new forms of communion.

Eternal follows the 2018 release of Holly and Jlin’s collaborative song Godmother (feat. Spawn). The skittering track, which was created by Spawn reimagining the artworks of her ‘godmother’ Jlin in a trained model of her mother’s voice with no editing or sample trickery, was praised everywhere from NPR to The Guardian to New York Times, and elsewhere.

You can hear traces of Spawn throughout the album, developed in partnership with long time collaborator Mathew Dryhurst and ensemble developer Jules LaPlace, and even eavesdrop on the live training ceremonies conducted in Berlin, in which hundreds of people were gathered to teach Spawn how to identify and reinterpret unfamiliar sounds in group call-and-response singing sessions; a contemporary update on the religious gathering Holly was raised amongst in her upbringing in East Tennessee.

Just as Platform forewarned of the manipulative personal and political impacts of prying social media platforms long before popular acceptance, Proto is a euphoric and principled statement setting the shape of things to come.

Proto

Music GB

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