AceShowbiz - Grimes has opened up about her upcoming album, revealing that the project is rooted in the psychological warfare she has endured rather than the artificial intelligence themes often associated with her work.

During a candid conversation with Adam Friedland on The Adam Friedland Show, the musician explained that Psyopera is about the "psyops" she went through and the cultural psyops of the broader culture, emphasizing that the record is more concerned with the human mind than with technology.

"[The new music is] about the psyops I went through... It's about the psyops we went through in the culture," Grimes said. "It's more about the future of the human mind than the future of technology. I don't think it's about AI mostly. It's about the human response."

When Friedland asked whether people get mad at her in her comments, Grimes replied, "I think it's kind of fair." She also recounted a recent meeting with a group of Zoomers who criticized her stance on AI safety. "They're on the AI safety side. They gave me a good talking to. It was really useful to me. I thought the criticism was valid," she said. "As an artist, I think it's really important for me to go to places other people won't go…. That's the artist's job. It's really important to be at ground zero of the singularity. Avoiding it is not a good idea."

Reflecting on her journey from the Brooklyn DIY venue 285 Kent to the tech world of Silicon Valley, Grimes noted that her project has always been tech-oriented. "Grimes was always a tech-oriented project. The context around me changed," she said. "The thing people liked was the producer aspect, the sci-fi aspect."

She also addressed the perception that she left music to join the alt-right, saying, "I think I've caught a bit of shrapnel." On the subject of dating Putin, she revealed, "I know someone who did date Putin. Which is crazy."

Music, she explained, serves as her therapeutic outlet for processing the trauma of the past six years. "Yes, I'm not going to talk about it not in art," she said. "I don't see it as bad for me. I see it as bad for everyone around me that I dragged through it, my family and kids and stuff. One of the last things I think about before I die will be feeling bad about that. From my perspective, I like to turn things positive. The nice thing about art is you can take anything that fucking sucks and turn it into something that makes you feel good."

Looking ahead, Grimes expressed her intention to write and produce music for other popstars. "I do intend to do that in the future," she said. "The wall of sound is underrated… The next project is very cyber sixties."

She also shared her views on being known as someone's ex, calling it "great performance art" and announcing that she is starting a matchmaking service. "I've so far introduced zero people… So far I only have men looking for women," she said.

On the topic of AI art, Grimes was blunt: "AI art is going to go away. It doesn't make sense financially for these companies. It's been a data-gathering exercise," she said. "People don't like AI music!"

She also praised critic Anthony Fantano, saying, "I love Anthony Fantano. It's good to have a friendemy. The role of the critic is very important. He doesn't take it seriously. He could make more of it, but it's really valuable."

The interview also touched on her past as a poptimist, her current views on the separation of pop and alternative music, and her life in San Francisco. "Being a SF 10 is a huge life upgrade," she joked, adding, "We need to move art girls [to SF to teach engineers love] so they don't destroy the world."

The conversation with Friedland, whose show previously aired on Cumtown and now streams on Spotify, offered a wide-ranging look at Grimes's current mindset as she prepares to release Psyopera.