Grimes releases her - very on-brand - new single

The song was reportedly made in collaboration with producer Illangelo

Grimes has released a new single, “I Wanna Be Software”, that pays tribute to her love of technology.

The 35-year-old artist first teased the new track on TikTok earlier this month. The song was reportedly made in collaboration with producer Illangelo, known for his work with Canadian singer, producer and actor The Weeknd.

This is the first single the “Shinigami Eyes” singer has released this year.

The lyrics of the song include the lines: “I wanna be software/ Upload my mind/ Take all my data/ What will you find?

“I wanna be software/ Battery heart/ Infinite options/ State of the art/ I wanna be software/ I wanna be code/ Digital dancing/ Upload my soul.”

Grimes frequently discusses technology with her fans on social media. In April, amid a frenzy over the use of AI technology in music, she encouraged her fans to try and come up with a song that used an AI-generated version of her voice.

“I’ll split 50 per cent royalties on any successful AI-generated song that uses my voice,” she tweeted. “Same deal as I would with any artist I collab with. Feel free to use my voice without penalty. I have no label and no legal bindings.

“I think it’s cool to be fused [with] a machine and I like the idea of open sourcing all art and killing copyright.”

She later suggested that she was seeking to clone her own voice and make it available to fans: “We’re making a program that should simulate my voice well but we could also upload stems and samples for people to train their own.”

Earlier this year, Grimes revealed that she was writing music for the first time in “ages”, and said she was enjoying the process.

“Wow making music for the first time in ages and I forgot this is very fun,” she wrote on Twitter in February.

Soon after that, Grimes also issued an update on the release of her new album, Book 1.

(AFP via Getty Images)

The singer acknowledged the long wait time for the album, which she has been teasing as early as 2021.

She said the delay is caused to “minor legal stuff”, adding that “fame and notoriety is a unique hell”.

“Not to say life isn’t blessed and my GOD ten time better = I’m the luckiest girl on earth, but do I want the attention an album brings? 100 per cent nooo (with all due respect)” Grimes wrote, adding: “I owe y’all, the artists life is blessed and I take that seriously.

“But! My fam, best friends, and babies get dragged in no matter what I do, the narrative doesn’t belong to me,” she said. “My friends/[family are] my whole life – this is their battle too.

“I’ll always release music but if it hasn’t been clear; music is my side quest now. Tbh reduced pressure x increased freedom = prob more music just ideally low key,” Grimes wrote. “I’ll always do my best to entertain whilst depleting my literal reputation I hope that’s ok I love y’all.”

Before the release of “I Wanna Be Software”, Grimes featured on Kito’s track “Cold Touch” which was made using the singer’s newly launched AI vocal generator platform, Elf.Tech.

Grimes’s last music album Miss Anthropocene was released in 2020.