A three-piece band of Japanese robots called Z-Machines performed an album soon to be released by UK record label Warp Records.
Z-Machines' guitarist has 78 fingers, giving the band members the chance to play music in a way never done before by humans. The drummer has 22 arms, according to The Verge.
Z-Machine is competing with fellow robot band Compressorhead for the all-robot band top spot, according to The Huffington Post. Both bands are looking to change the way robotics can operate, with music.
The robot band's developers have been collaborating with record artist Squarepusher to explore the possibilities of using robots to make music, The Verge reported. Z-Machines and Squarepusher were able to record a five track album.
"In this project familiar instruments are used in ways which till now have been impossible," Squarepusher said.
Squashpusher said the process of writing music for robots came with challenges while examining the robot's capabilities with music, according to The Independent.
Footage was released in September of the robot band's work, The Independent reported. The footage shows the guitarist able to play many melody lines at once while using 12 picks.
"Each of the robotic devices involved in the performances of this music has its own specification which permits certain possibilities and excludes others," Squashpusher said. "The robot guitar player, for example, can play much faster than a human ever could, but there is no amplitude control."
Squarepusher said he has been focusing on the robots' abilities to play music that is emotionally engaging, according to The Huffington Post.
"For me, there has always been something fascinating about the encounter of the unfamiliar with the familiar," Squarepusher said. "I have long been an advocate of taking fresh approaches to existing instrumentation as much as I am an advocate of trying to develop new instruments, and being able to rethink the way in which, for example, an electric guitar can be used is very exciting."
Z-Machines' album Music For Robots is set to be released on Apr. 8, according to The Verge. Those who pre-order now will be able to hear the band's single "Sad Robot Goes Funny" before the album's release.
Want to see the robots for yourself? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.
