The songs visual relies on some stellar deepface AI
Image: Supplied.
Sydney-based twin act Cosmo’s Midnight are back with their first taste of new music for the year with Titanic. Following on from their sophomore album Yesteryear, the shimmering new track arrives just in time for you weekend lockdown boogie.
Continuing their signature fusion of funk and house, Titanic is a welcomed return from the duo, built upon a four on the floor drum pattern. Captivating synths and groovy guitar lines will have you up on your feet unable to hold in the urge to dance along, with Patrick Liney's falsetto vocals taking you to higher ground. Conceptually, Titanic takes an evolved approach from the duos previous releases, as they reflect on past regrets. The songs visual, helmed by director extraordinaire Tim Nathan, relies on deepface AI to bring Cosmo and Patrick to bring surreal versions of the duo to life.
Speaking on the track and video, one half of the duo Patrick says: “‘Titanic’ kind of feels like a thematic progression from Yesteryear. It’s reflecting on past regrets but instead of Yesteryear where it’s kind of got this hint of optimism to it, ‘Titanic’ is kind of pessimistic with the lyrics ‘you said we’d be okay but I don’t feel that way’. It’s like the moment just before everything spirals downwards. When it came to doing the artwork we ended up using a deep learning AI to generate ideas in collaboration with our artist Charlotte Mei and Creative Director Jordan Kirk, so it’s kind of fitting that we ended up also using deepface AI to deep fake ourselves into the film clip. The outcome was so surreal which kind of works with the times we’re in and the bizarre mood we wanted."
Delving deeper into the conceptual nature of the visual, director Tim Nathan shares: "Initially we were going to have Cos & Pat in the clip but pretty soon it became apparent that it wouldn't be possible. The clip wouldn't have made sense without having them in so we dabbled with 3D printed masks, look-alikes etc., and finally landed on deepfaking their faces onto the kids...which ended up being kinda hilarious. It was a classic clip for me to direct because it was so loose - we were literally diving into all these projected 'subconscious' versions of the audience, and putting them in those worlds was an experiment in itself. Obviously it's all open to interpretation but I love the idea that the audience are fantasizing about starring in their own music videos."
Launching into the industry with their acclaimed 2018 debut, What Comes Next, Cosmo's Midnight have gone from strength to strength, with the multi-instrumentalist, songwriting and production due cementing their status with their 2020 sophomore record, Yesteryear. Having teamed up with the likes of Korean pop supergroup BTS, the pair have also taken to the stage at mammoth festivals including St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Listen Out, Splendour in the Grass, with sold out headline shows across the US, Asia, UK, Europe and their homeland Australia.
Titanic is out now! Watch the visual below.