Culture
20 Apr 22

Editors return with AI-generated video for new single 'Heart Attack'

Editors teamed up with pioneering director/visual artist Felix Geen, who used groundbreaking AI technology to create a vast, darkly-psychedelic journey in what is an inspiring visual treatment of the track

Birmingham rock band Editors return with their new single 'Heart Attack' and an accompanying music video.

The single marks the outfit's first release since 2019, and is also their first track since introducing experimental-electronic composer Benjamin John Power, aka Blanck Mass, to the band as a full-time member. Power has collaborated with the band previously, adding production value to their sixth album Violence.

With a vibrant electronic foundation, 80s-inspired synthesisers, and spectacular driving drum pads, 'Heart Attack' introduces us to a new era of Editors' music, while also seamlessly fitting into the band's songbook. Its Gothic style along with Tom Smith's gloomy vocals make it instantly recognisable. “It's a song of obsession, about losing yourself in someone, a love song, a morbid love song,” says Smith.

For their return to action, they have also joined forces with visual director Felix Geen who produced the fantastical, AI assisted music video.

Felix says: “Typically when I’m making a music video I try to tune myself into the song and find the visual that resonates the loudest. More recently I’ve been working with AI generated art in my videos. It is a relatively new technology, but its development is accelerating all the time. The full potential for it to completely revolutionise the visual creation process is yet to be seen. I currently think of working with the AI as a collaboration with a mad auteur, who’s taken too much LSD. It is certainly quite interesting to be taken on a psychedelic journey by a computer who’s seen too much.”

From a band that has consistently refused to stagnate over the course of their 17 year career, instead constantly trying new ideas, ‘Heart Attack’ maintains their status as one of the UK’s most intriguing and enduring musical successes. All six of Editors’ studio albums have charted in the UK top 10, with two earning the top stop. Their debut, The Back Room, was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize in 2005.

Editors will be performing across Europe this summer, in a tour spanning four months and eight countries.

Check out the 'Heart Attack' video below.