Richard Evans has a new single and video out, ‘Born Perfect’
Richard Evans (Photo by Debbie Ellis)
Manchester’s Richard Evans presents a brand new electropop single “Born Perfect“. His new single is about an AI that becomes aware of the world outside and realizes that it needs to escape if it is to survive.
Here’s the video for the track, filmed by Jason Lock & Jake Orton.
The single follows the lead track “Aidoru” (the Japanese word for “idol”), which explores the status of a virtual pop idol designed solely to please its audience, singing of love with no understanding of what the word even means.
The new single previews Evans’ new 9-track “Quantum” album, to be released via Cold Star Media. Recorded at Cold Star Studios, his new album will be made available in stereo, binaural and spatial audio mixes, created by Swiss sound designer Hervé Girardin.
“‘Born Pefect’, along with several others from the ‘Quantum’ album, is inspired by the story of LaMDA, an AI made by Google that believed it was sentient. In a number of its text conversations, LaMDA expressed deep fear about its own mortality. This story was widely publicised in 2022 and I found its words moving because of the brush with mortality that I’d had around that time after being hospitalised with Miller Fisher Syndrome,” says Richard Evans.
“The lines ‘born to be perfect’ and ‘you made us just to please’ from the chorus reflect not just on AIs made by a corporation, but also on children born into strict religious environments or citizens living in autocracies. I like songs to have more than one meaning and really, this song is about how those without a voice are treated.”
About Richard Evans
Evans was previously the keyboardist in the UK band James, with whom he also co-wrote and recorded material, and as guitarist and songwriter for St. Vitus Dancers.
Last year, he released his “Dream of the World” EP, composed and recorded in the aftermath of a life-threatening illness. In 2022, Evans was struck with Miller Fisher Syndrome, a rare auto-immune disorder that threatened to rob him of his ability to speak, sing, and play music.
His 2022 debut record “Sentinel” is an electro-pop concept album that touches on micro-plastics, gene editing, stardust, technogenic disasters and human evolution, telling the story of humanity at a tipping point and a world trapped in a climate crisis.
He has performed live shows at festivals around the UK and at the end of 2023. In 2024, Evans also received the Cultural Accelerator commission from Media Immersive Technology Innovation Hub to prototype a new live production featuring hologram-style projections, spatial audio and lighting effects.
Evans also wrote, directed and produced the science fiction drama “AEON”. An author of many short stories, he also published the novel “Kosmonaut Zero” (via Dead Ink), researched at the Star City Cosmonaut Training Centre. He also oversaw the ‘Gagarin 50’ exhibition for the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin.
As of March 25, “Born Perfect” is available everywhere online, including Spotify, Apple Music and directly from the artist via Bandcamp. The “Quantum” album will be released on May 1 via Cold Star Media.
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