A Collective of Artists Including the Rising Indie Artist beccs and Mike Reilly
“We Were Machines” is a song that began decades ago with a chord progression. Artist and songwriter Mike Reilly of Pretend Collective explains that he took his sweet time developing and recording the psych-rock anthem “We Were Machines”. The collective is a group of artists led by Reilly and includes artists Aurelien Budynek (Cindy Blackman Santana, Marky Ramone) and beccs, a rising star in the indie-pop world. Together, the artists create thought-provoking and unconventional songs that blend evocative lyrics with intricate compositions, drawing from a wide range of influences from classic bands of the 60s to modern psychedelic rock.
Two magical moments during Reilly’s development process made the track the inventive sound it is today. First was the breakthrough in the live recording process at Pineapple Room Studio in Kerhonkson, New York. “We Were Machines”, Reilly shares, “Sequestered and cozy in the Hudson Valley woods, we enjoyed each other’s company and recorded all together in one room, live to tape without a click. I never want to record any other way again.”
The second was Reilly’s decision to feature rising indie-pop star beccs on vocals, whose emotive vocal performance and spoken word bring a new dimension. From the moment he heard beccs perform at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC, Reilly wanted this powerful and soulful voice in the role of the sympathetic Machine character.
Composer Mike Reilly drew inspiration from his childhood memories of sci-fi pop culture, eventually weaving these influences into the song’s evocative lyrics. The song’s themes draw from classic science fiction, echoing influences from Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick to Gene Roddenberry and James Cameron, exploring contemporary concerns about technology and environmental degradation.
What we listen to today, is a lament of humanity’s relationship with rapidly evolving and increasingly intelligent technology. ‘We Were Machines’ recalls Goethe’s Der Zauberlehrling, immortalized in the iconic Sorcerer’s Apprentice sequence from Disney’s Fantasia, in which the brooms made for doing their master’s bidding come to life with frightening implications. The song delves into the existential questions of sentience and control and suggests humans may become subject to their own creations… a topic that is frequently discussed with the rise of AI technology.
