Robocobra Quartet detail 100-song album, Hundred Pieces

The album takes inspiration from the art of Marina Abramović. The band, formed by drummer and vocalist Chris W Ryan, began writing specifically for "the hundred" after an off-hand remark about a 100-track record. "Haha" lands as the first preview, a densely layered jazz number with Ryan's combination of spoken, sung and shouted vocals. Created with zero use of AI, Hundred Pieces is an ode to the idea that creating work is a form of joy, and that humans can do large tasks too. Across the tracklisting, the band shifts through genres ranging from post-hardcore to dub mixes and austere ambience. While some songs required months of working out in the studio, others came together quickly during the writing process. During this time, saxophonist Thibault Barillon took to growing petri dishes of fungus at home in order to create the album artwork. "One day I just bought some agar plates and started experimenting, finding joy in inventing my own 'techniques' of what type of mould would grow from different organic matter," says Barillon. "As time went by and we worked on the album, the band became more aware of the parallels with the process of the hundred: chance-based moments and letting s...