Music is an art form expressed through the medium of sound and silence. This particular artistic and social phenomenon is accepted as universal in many ways, though the creation, performance, significance, and even the very definition of music varies from culture to culture. It should come as no surprise that music plays an important role in non-human societies as well. It also comes as no surprise that the cultures in question define music in ways that are profoundly baffling to many human beings. Androids, artificial (largely cybernetic) life forms modeled on a human physiological template, define music in largely aleatoric terms. If a performer fails to improvise in countless, surprising ways, an android is likely to view that musical performance as an extreme, non-musical failure: indeed, if a song sounds even remotely the same way twice, it fails to register as music according to android standards. Non-aleatoric musical forms are acceptable to the android ear, but they are often classified as poetry or non-narrative fiction. A recognition of these facts is necessary if someone (presumably human) expects to understand the true cultural significance of a musical group such as Duplex 8. Duplex 8 is undeniable proof that music is not an exclusively-human artistic pursuit. In the decades following first contact with the Heth species, extensive Heth/android interaction paved the way for the emergence of a distinct, hybrid culture. It is through morphologically-human androids that the Heth gained an understanding of Humanity, and it is through those same androids that life forms from earth have gained a foothold on other worlds. Earth is the only world upon which humans dwell, but androids of initially-human manufacture, and human appearance now enjoy dual Human/Heth citizenship and groups such as Duplex 8 are a representation of the odd forms of cultural exchange that have taken place as a result. Alex, the only earth-derived life-form member of the group reflects his Heth citizenship in his mastery of a Heth musical instrument known as the drüd. Many of his improvisations with that instrument serve as the starting point of nearly every Duplex 8 live performance. “One does not play the drüd if one follows rules and regulations,” Alex said, during his first US-American interview on The Hot Spot “The drüd demands improvisation, and skill, and only a living being is capable of that.” When asked, by the host (Josie Josephs) whether or not he thought a human might ever master such an instrument, he shrugged, laughing: “I’d like to hope a human might play such an instrument, but unfortunately, humans don’t like the sense of freedom drüd-mastery creates. True freedom is a terrifying thing, and I think humans have evolved, at least socially, away from the ability to deal with that. One doesn’t truly master such an instrument like the drüd; instead, one comes to understand a state of mind that is, ultimately, non-human.” Duplex 8 has released their first Terran-produced album: Doubleplus and it has already gone ultraviolet on the interstellar charts. Rock-Zot Today calls it, “an incendiary, bone-shattering success, blending the best of classical drüd virtuosity with the ballet-elegance of a gamma-ray pulse, spiraling out of neutron stars as they merge. It’s that good, and humans simply won’t get it. What could be any better than that?” * Actually, this is just a photo I took of VanBuren Avenue, when Corey and I had the pleasure of hanging out with Tara and Bill and Yvonne, before heading back to the Burnham Hotel for conversation, laughter, and cookies. I couldn’t resist putting Duplex 8 into this shot, as their digital poster looks so much better than a parking sign. And as always, thank you for viewing, reading and commenting.