Skip to main content

Watch this amazing bot band rock out before destroying their instruments

AUTOMATICA 4k - Robots Vs. Music - Nigel Stanford
Robots aren’t only coming for our jobs, they’re going to spend a great deal of time entertaining us, too, if the latest work from musician Nigel Stanford is anything to go by.

The New Zealander has just released an incredible video showing a band of industrial robots knocking out a tune on an array of instruments. And in true rock ’n’ roll style, they even smash them up at the end.

Recommended Videos

The track, Automatica, is from Stanford’s forthcoming album, Automatica — Robots vs. Music. Record label Sony Music says the work “raises the question, just how close are we to fully AI robots performing instruments and blending in with normal, everyday human activity?” Pretty close, according to Stanford’s efforts.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Stanford, whose music has been picked up in the past by both NASA and the European Space agency, came up with the idea for his bot band in 2015 following the success of his groundbreaking Cymatics – Science vs. Music video featuring an exhilarating blend of music, art, and physics.

Using several machines from industrial robotics systems company Kuka, Stanford set about programming them to play the drums, piano, and guitar — as well as perform a few turntable tricks. The musician shut himself away in his garage for a month, and through trial and error gradually learned how to get the robots to produce the kind of sounds he wanted.

Stanford made a note of seeing the project through by himself, without any outside help.“”I do all of the programming,” Stanford said, adding, “I think it’s important to come at the scientific aspects from the perspective of a musician.”

The video is beautifully shot, though toward the end the robots pull a Frankenstein move and turn on Stanford, smashing up the instruments in spectacular style — though not before tossing the Kiwi a guitar so he can close out the track.

Keen to see more? Then check out this short behind-the-scenes video showing Stanford in the early stages of creating his robot band.

Similar efforts

Other bands consisting entirely of automatons include, for example, Z-Machines. Created by a University of Tokyo IT professor and a mechanical designer in 2013, the Japanese three-bot band featured a drummer with six arms and a guitarist with 78 fingers.

Another robot group, Compressorhead, was created in the same year by Berlin-based artist Frank Barnes together with Markus Kolb and Stock Plum. Also made up of three androids, Compressorhead is still going strong and has a new album out in November.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Hyundai Ioniq 5 sets world record for greatest altitude change
hyundai ioniq 5 world record altitude change mk02 detail kv

When the Guinness World Records (GWR) book was launched in 1955, the idea was to compile facts and figures that could finally settle often endless arguments in the U.K.’s many pubs.

It quickly evolved into a yearly compilation of world records, big and small, including last year's largest grilled cheese sandwich in the world.

Read more
Global EV sales expected to rise 30% in 2025, S&P Global says
ev sales up 30 percent 2025 byd sealion 7 1stbanner l

While trade wars, tariffs, and wavering subsidies are very much in the cards for the auto industry in 2025, global sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are still expected to rise substantially next year, according to S&P Global Mobility.

"2025 is shaping up to be ultra-challenging for the auto industry, as key regional demand factors limit demand potential and the new U.S. administration adds fresh uncertainty from day one," says Colin Couchman, executive director of global light vehicle forecasting for S&P Global Mobility.

Read more
Faraday Future could unveil lowest-priced EV yet at CES 2025
Faraday Future FF 91

Given existing tariffs and what’s in store from the Trump administration, you’d be forgiven for thinking the global race toward lower electric vehicle (EV) prices will not reach U.S. shores in 2025.

After all, Chinese manufacturers, who sell the least expensive EVs globally, have shelved plans to enter the U.S. market after 100% tariffs were imposed on China-made EVs in September.

Read more