The notion of automation is a significant theme in electro rap, but also in contemporaneous crossover songs of the time. The idea of ‘automatic’ as a concept suggests a thing (machine, device, process, or other) can operate independent of direct human control, yet, in order to make the thing automatic, human interaction is first required to design, develop, or assemble the thing. The idea of ‘autonomous’ is similar, and whilst the terms ‘automatic’ and ‘autonomous’ are often used interchangeably, the variance between them rests with the degree of human intervention required with the automatic or autonomous thing. A thing that is autonomous requires less human intervention that a thing that is automatic. This difference becomes meaningful to a holistic view of humanity when explored through the lens of electro rap, particularly when electro rap is interrogated alongside broader crossover synth-based boogie. In electro rap (and certain other songs that follow) the concept of automation is remodelled, re-evaluated or inverted, thus proposing that the human becomes either that which is automated, automatic or autonomous, or part of an integral automatizing process with the thing itself and broader cultural context.
‘Auto-Man’ by Newcleus is perhaps the strongest example of the latter. The song features on Newcleus’ debut album Jam On Revenge (1984), and was also released as a single in the US, France, and Germany. The song’s lyrics are rooted in a angst-ridden love story between a woman and Auto-Man. Through the narrative, the listener learns that the woman is human, whilst Auto-Man is initially presented as android, created by man. Through third-person representation, the woman repeatedly proclaims her love for Auto-Man, to which Auto-Man responds each time:
I’m an Auto-Man / I’m made of wires... wires... wires... I’m an Auto-Man / There ain’t no way that I could ever love you”
The woman continues to maintain that he can love her, stating that, “You live so that means you can love”, to which he retorts, “I don't even have a heart beat... listen”, to which a collocation of offbeat drum machine and digital percussion ensues. This percussive composition is metaphorical through its subtlety, a habitual association occurs between this section and the rest of the drum programming, signifying the simultaneity and difference between human and android, reaffirming Auto-Man’s point.
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