Brand new LP from Macro/micro

Los Angeles-based musician, producer and composer Tommy Simpson, operating under the alias Macro/micro, has spent his life forming links between the seen and the unseen. His work brings together inner reflection and external reality, channeling the infinite complexities of consciousness into sound and through his immersive blend of IDM and experimental electronic composition, his music guides listeners through spheres of shadow and light.

His connection to music was first made in classical training that began at the age of five and by his teenage years, he was already writing and recording his own material that would eventually lead to Macro/micro. Across his extensive catalogue of albums and EPs, he’s earned a reputation for crafting works that feel at once technically sophisticated and emotionally impactful. His compositions often move between stillness and intensity, stacking intricate electronic rhythms with ambient textures that echo both the mechanical and the metaphysical.

Outside of his own releases, his versatility has made him a sought-after creative collaborator; his compositions have appeared in films including Hardcore Henry, Profile and Unfriended, as well as in contemporary theatre and art installations around the world. Between 2019 and 2021, he worked as an audio engineer alongside sonic pioneers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, contributing to their acclaimed scores for Watchmen, Waves, Mank and Pixar’s Soul. During this time, he also assisted on Nine Inch Nails’ Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts albums, as well as Halsey’s If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, experiences that would go on to influence his sound design approach and expand his own sense of sonic storytelling.

Now, Macro/micro returns with his most ambitious project thus far, unveiling A.fter I.ntelligence, a concept album exploring humanity’s strained relationship with artificial intelligence. The record jumps into deep philosophical areas, grappling with concepts such as The Alignment Problem, The Hard Problem of Consciousness and the eerie thought experiments that haunt AI ethics, including the infamous Paperclip Maximizer.

The first single titled “Artificial Narrow Intelligence (We Can Always Just Shut It Off)” kick starts a six-month rollout leading up to the full album’s release on June 23rd. Following the leftfield album opener “Clicks (Prologue)” with its rattling rhythms and intense, processed vocals, the new single serve up a pulsing piece of avant-garde electronica where zapping synth stabs, eerie runs and the gritty crunch of texture forms an unnerving and thoroughly engrossing listening experience that builds with dance-focused grooves and absorbing sound design.

While much of A.fter I.ntelligence is instrumental, three tracks incorporate vocals that punctuate the record’s otherwise transportive soundscape, bringing a human presence to its digital expanse. The album also features several notable collaborators such as Benjamin Jared Miller of the band HEALTH contributing drums, Veronika Coassolo, formerly of TRICKY, lending her haunting vocals to the expansive “De-Empty,” introducing a sense of fragility and unease that complements the album’s conceptual focus.

Ultiamtely, A.fter I.ntelligence reflects Macro/micro’s profound understanding of structure and contrast, presenting a meditation on the interface between humanity and technology. It’s a record that feels equally analytical and emotional, echoing the contradictions of a future that’s already here and in many ways, Macro/micro’s music has always been about searching for connection between mind and body, between individual and system, between creator and creation.

With A.fter I.ntelligence, he reaches the apex of that exploration, while interrogating what remains human in the process. New singles from the album are set to drop every six weeks in the run up to its full release, while fans can get the digital versions today via Bandcamp and Even.Biz.

Listen to A.fter I.ntelligence below