OK Go Plans to Release Album on DNA




/ 10 years ago

OK Go

Innovative rock band OK Go, famous for spectacular home-made music videos, wants to encode the band’s fourth album, Hungry Ghosts, on DNA.

Lead singer Damian Kulash, who studied computer science at university, recalls the fork in the road that took him toward music: “I remember sitting with my friend and saying ‘dude, what are we going to do? Are we going to start a startup or a band?’ And at almost the exact same moment he said ‘startup’ and I said ‘band’. He sold his startup to Microsoft, so he’s got a lot more money than I do!”

But Kulash kept one foot in the science camp; he’s been working with UCLA biochemist Sriram Kosuri on genetic encoding. “I was at a conference, the Future of Storytelling, where a book had been encoded in DNA,” Kulash said, “and I was fascinated by lots of parts of that idea.”

For an album, or any data, to be encoded on DNA means translating it from binary into base 4 code, referring to the four DNA nucleotides A, C, T, and G. The album cannot be listened until it is translated back into binary, meaning the DNA acts purely as a rudimentary storage device, a fact Kulash readily admits: “It’s arbitrary as an artistic gesture, but the scientists are actually figuring out a lot of actual cryptography and biology, so it’s win-win.”

“I’ve been saying for a while now that nerds are the new rock stars, and that goes both ways,” Kulash concludes.

Source: The Guardian


Topics: , , , ,

Support eTeknix.com

By supporting eTeknix, you help us grow and continue to bring you the latest newsreviews, and competitions. Follow us on FacebookTwitter and Instagram to keep up with the latest technology news, reviews and more. Share your favourite articles, chat with the team and more. Also check out eTeknix YouTube, where you'll find our latest video reviews, event coverage and features in 4K!

Looking for more exciting features on the latest technology? Check out our What We Know So Far section or our Fun Reads for some interesting original features.

eTeknix Facebook eTeknix Twitter eTeknix Instagram eTeknix Instagram
  • Be Social With eTeknix

    Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Reddit RSS Discord Patreon TikTok Twitch
  • Features


Send this to a friend
})