Remixed and Remaster, January 2022

Artificial Friend is inspired by the novel 'Klara and the Sun' by Kazuo Ishiguro.

The story unfolds in the not-to-distant future, narrated by our protagonist, Klara, a solar powered AI robot who is designed to bond with teenage children. We meet her as she is on display in a store front waiting to be purchased.

Klara and the other Artificial Friends, or AF's as they are called, are purchased by wealthy families to be a friend and companion to their children as they undergo a medical procedure which produces a transformation. We don't know why these children are being modified, but in classic Ishiguro style, the layers of this dystopian world unfold through the eyes of our AI narrator. We discover that the world Klara inhabits is not all sunshine. Darkness creeps in as she discovers the true intentions of her owner.

The arrangements were created using a suite of Moog fixed architecture and semi-modular synthesizers:

- Moog One
- Moog Matriarch
- Moog Subsequent 37
- Moog Subharmonicon
- Moog DFAM

In addition to the synths, the Akai Pro MPC One was used for the traditional drum parts.

Reverb, Delay and other audio artifacts were created using the following hardware effects:

- Chass Bliss CXM 1978 Reverb
- Erica Synths Zen Delay
- Hologram Electronics Microcosm

The album was mixed and mastered using a hybrid approach combining in-the-box plugins along with these analog processors on the mix and master buss:

- AudioScape G-Stereo VCA Compressor
- SSL Fusion Stereo Analogue Colour
- Bettermaker Mastering EQ
- Rupert Neve Designs Master Buss Processor
- Bettermaker Mastering Limiter