What happens when a band lets a machine "dream"? David Reiterer of the Vienna electronic act Lucy Dreams built an artificial band member named Lucy — not to write songs, but to spark them, feeding chaotic loops of noise until something human-worthy emerges. In this conversation with Eben Pagan, David unpacks why he believes AI will never replace the artist, how his band handles the thorny ethics of AI training data, and what it really means to stay human as technology accelerates past us.
Musician & Vocalist | Lucy Dreams
David Reiterer is the founding vocalist of Lucy Dreams, a Vienna-based band that pioneers what it calls the "SonicWaveArtPop" genre. The trio is built around Lucy, an artificial band member that predates the ChatGPT era, described as a system of chained audio effects, hardware pedals, and processors tuned by the band over years, with no neural networks or LLMs involved.
Creator & Sound Designer | Lucy (Artificial Band Member System)
Reiterer co-designed Lucy as a hands-on, experimental system rather than a coded piece of software. He describes the process of building her as "more like learning an instrument than coding software," using her to expand creative possibilities without ever having her "write us a song," with Lucy typically contributing only the initial 2-3% of a song.
Recording & Touring Artist | Aztec Records
Reiterer has released two full-length albums with Lucy Dreams, Götterfunken and the 2025 record VVVVV, described by the band as the soundtrack to humanity's leap into a fifth dimension. The band has performed across Canada, Japan, Europe, and the UK, including a major performance at Vienna's Konzerthaus and shows in London, New York, and Paris, with The Line of Best Fit describing their live show as "a quite irresistible show."
Award-Winning Genre Pioneer | XA Export Award
As the character "Zero" in the XA Export Award-winning band Lucy Dreams, Reiterer is recognized as a pioneer of the SonicWaveArtPop genre, which has been gaining increasing recognition in contemporary music and art circles. The band has been featured on KEXP (US), Monocle Radio (UK), and Wonderland (UK).
Lucy The Artificial Bandmate | David explains how his band built an artificial band member that generates raw sonic material without ever writing the actual song.
Defining Art Itself | David argues that art is ultimately defined by the recipient rather than the creator, transforming even a train schedule into literature under the right lens.
Artists As Cultural Antennas | David explores the idea that artists sense and communicate societal shifts long before scientists, philosophers, or governments catch up.
Building The Album VVVVV | David walks through how his band used LLMs to refine lyrics while keeping the core creative spark human.
AI Training And Artist Pay | David makes the case for transparent, traceable systems that fairly compensate artists whose work trains AI music models.
Inspiration Versus Data Extraction | David and Eben debate whether AI training on an artist's work is meaningfully different from human artists borrowing from their influences.
The Artist's Cultural Duty | David describes his belief that artists have an obligation to embed human values into rapidly advancing technology.
Human Made Versus Machine Made | David predicts a future where human-made music carries its own certification, much like organic food labeling.
Life In The First AI Generation | David reflects on what it means to be part of a generation shaping AI's foundational values before the technology fully matures.
Can Machines Become Conscious | David and Eben discuss whether AI could develop something resembling consciousness, and why that question matters practically, not just philosophically.
00:00 - 04:47 | Meet Lucy, The Band's Artificial Member
04:47 - 09:34 | Defining Art As A Mode Of Perception
09:34 - 14:21 | Artists As The Antenna Of Society
14:21 - 19:08 | Building VVVVV With AI-Assisted Lyrics
19:08 - 23:55 | The Fight For Fair AI Music Compensation
23:55 - 28:42 | Debating Influence Versus AI Training Data
28:42 - 33:29 | An Artist's Duty In The AI Age
33:29 - 38:16 | AI Music, Commodity Culture, And Human Authenticity
38:16 - 43:03 | Being Part Of The First AI Generation
43:03 - 47:49 | Can Machines Actually Become Conscious?
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