All-Robot Band Compressorhead Launch Kickstarter To Build Vocalist For Debut LP

The progress of technology has reached a crucial juncture in history — the moment where we need to stop, take a hard look at what we've created, and seriously question whether we're taking things too far.

One of the latest incredible horrorshows to make us fear the onset of the inevitable rise and consequent dominance of the machines is all-robot band Compressorhead, a German-born outfit whose members were built between 2007 and 2013, when it made its debut performance right here in Australia. And while their creators maintain they're incapable of making their own decisions, we've seen enough sci-fi to know how that kind of confidence ends for everyone.

Indeed, just like their flesh-and-blood counterparts, the members of Compressorhead are apparently constantly looking for ways to broaden their sound, at least at the behest of their human overloards — and that's where Kickstarter comes in, with project developers Frank Barnes, Markus Kolb and Stock Plum launching a €290,000 (about $446,000) campaign to help build a robotic vocalist for the band, as well as fund their debut studio album.

Historically, the band has been comprised of three members: "Fingers", the guitarist, utilising two hands with a total of 78 fingers to shred on the six-string; "Bones", the bassist, the only of the band's members to closely mirror human anatomy, with two four-fingered hands doing its duty on the four-string; and "Stickboy", the band's four-armed drummer. As entertaining and awe-inspiring as the band are to watch, there's no denying that they lack that personal touch — so Barnes, Kolb and Plum plan to build a "front robot" in order to "sing, perform the songs of the new album and interact with the crowd".

"We [Barnes, Kolb and Plum] … are full-time artists; the only thing we want to do is build robots and let them rock," the creators wrote on Kickstarter.

"Now we want Compressorhead to be the first Robot Band to record an original album. Together with the Canadian music legend, John Wright (of NomeansNo & The Hanson Brothers), we are producing fantastic new songs for our rocking Robot Band … but we can't do an album without a singer to perform the vocals!"

In order to demonstrate the kind of headway they're making in the writing sessions, the creators have included a sneak peek at Wright playing alongside the mechanical members of Compressorhead, who, yes, are meticulously accurate in their technical skill, right down to the clockwork headbanging. Check it out below.

When all is said and done, the creators and their band-bots will produce a 14-track album exclusively composed for Compressorhead, with the front-robot being designed "with special features for interaction" with the audience, while a stainless-steel tracked drive unit will help make the singer "as fast on the stage as any human".

Barnes, Kolb and Plum have indicated that the €290,000 in funds will be used for construction, programming and teaching the robots, as well as recording the album in-studio and developing a feature called the Mindlink Web App, which is designed to connect users with the band and their favourite robots, sending notifications to fans when the band becomes active.

Compressorhead's front-bot and debut album Kickstarter is open now, and will run until 5 December. See the band's campaign for further information.