We sat down with musician Valentin Hansen to discuss his latest infinite AI album and the current state of music.
Nowadays, becoming a self-sustained creative requires you to not only master your craft but also know how to present new ideas and bodies of work to a chronically online audience. Creatives in the early stages of their careers should be able to focus on fine-tuning their craft, yet the reality is very different. Instead, they find themselves juggling the roles of makers, digital marketers and creative directors to avoid disappearing into the eternal void of the internet and missing out on the opportunity of ever being recognised.
We had vaguely heard of the German musician Valentin Hansen through the Berlin creative community. When an interview opportunity arose, we began delving into his artistic practice and latest infinite AI album, Max (2025). Intrigued by the album’s concept and the symbiosis of soothing sounds and high-quality imagery, we knew Hansen was someone we wanted to find out more about.
On the morning of the interview, we met in Berlin’s Hansaviertel area, where the Killing A Friend multidisciplinary creative collective’s modern industrial studio space is located. After a chat with Hansen and his two creative partners, we migrated to their music studio, the perfect stage for a raw conversation about music, the publishing industry, and, most importantly, Max.
Sitting in the heart of the soundproofed studio, nestled amongst fierce-looking keyboards, electric and bass guitars, and flashing lights on synths, we began rolling the tape.
Œ: One second. Just checking if it’s recording. There’s always that moment when you don’t know if it’s recording or not…
Hansen: Yeah… *Hansen laughs* That moment when you realise it wasn’t recording the whole time…
Œ: Okay, we’re good! Thank you again for joining us for an interview. I’m looking forward to hearing more about you and your story. Could you start by introducing yourself?
Hansen: Yeah, thank you for inviting me to make this happen! I’m Valentin Hansen. I grew up in northern Germany, close to Hamburg, by the sea. Living in the countryside as a small kid was really nice, but as I got older and discovered the depths of the internet, I felt inspired to see the world and listen to new stuff.
After dropping out of high school in 11th grade – a year before I was supposed to graduate – I moved to Berlin. I was never looking to go down the academic route. Instead, I saw myself going straight into doing real industry stuff – learning by doing.
When I arrived in Berlin, it only took me a few months to get to know the right people in the industry. I quickly earned my living by doing graphic design and video stuff. I spent all my free time producing music. It took me around five years to release my first song, but music has always been the core of everything.
Œ: Given that both of your albums are “disruptive”, it seems like dropping out of high school plays into your artistic approach to this day. What led you to decide not to finish your studies?
Hansen: When I dropped out of school, I was in the end phase of being a teenager, where you have these radical thoughts of wanting to change the world. I was reflecting and asking myself what kind of structure I was in.
I thought a lot about the rigid, predestined path of going to school – finishing to have the opportunity to, maybe, end up doing what you want. Dropping out interrupted this process and helped me reclaim my power. I wanted to be able to say that every decision I made was mine and not part of some societal structure.
Œ: Thinking in broader terms, what does music and making it mean to you?
Hansen: It’s the art form closest to me and the easiest way to express myself. It’s very non-rational. Sometimes, it’s just me turning off my head and doing stuff, finding sounds. When I first started, my parents always told me to go to piano classes, but that was when I was a child. Now, having the power to produce songs on the computer without a big team or studio is a blessing.
I was always very moved by music, and now I’m at the point where I can be moved by my own. Having the power to create moments that throw me back to sitting at the piano or in my old room. Doing stuff and being like: ‘Okay, there’s this moment, this magic moment.’ Creating music helps me translate a language that can’t be spoken but needs to be spoken sometimes.
Œ: How do you consume music, and how would you like your music to be consumed?
Hansen: There is an overconsumption of content. More and more trash and advertisements are being fed to people. I’ve always preferred having a selection of important music rather than exploring new sounds, and I think I’m heading even more in this direction. Sometimes, it’s like going to a place that feels safe or familiar and going back to this place over and over again.
I’m very much someone who goes back to albums I have already listened to hundreds of times. But, interestingly, this project is the complete opposite of my music consumption habits. I’ve listened to, enjoyed, and saved several songs, but I would rather listen to songs I know that I like than new ones.
Œ: Where did the idea for your 2025 album, Max, come from?
Hansen: The initial inspiration came from researching new tools for music production. When AI tools first came about, we played around with them for a bit. The key moment was when I realised that if I can reach a point where I can create a song in less time than a song is running, then I can push something to the limit, to eternity repetitively. This small thought grew into a whole world of feeling inspired by the form of an album or project.
Also, being in the studio and thinking about how much music you relate to is out there. Thinking: ‘What’s my place and purpose? Is there any music needed anymore because there’s already so much stuff?’ You eventually get to a point where you feel like quitting. I turn that feeling around, using new technology to the fullest and where I see myself.
Œ: Are we supposed to approach the album as more of a conceptual art piece, or is it meant to be listened to?
Hansen: Both! The conceptual thing wouldn’t work if the music weren’t good enough. If it were solely conceptual, it could have been any kind of experimental electronic music that goes on and on… You would have still understood the idea.
But when it’s music that is more chill and connected to organic pop music, the album feels a bit less like listening to art and starts throwing up questions instead. At this point, you may already be emotionally connected to a piece of music. Then you find out that there’s another song and another song before finally realising that it is AI-generated. This causes a major dichotomy within the listener.
Œ: What’s your opinion on AI in the arts?
Hansen: I started exploring it solely for research, and it’s still something I’m not sure about. I think I’m very much into this concept and using AI for this album made a lot of sense, but I think there are a lot of other situations where it’s complete bullshit and where it’s unnecessary.
There are instances where it’s interesting to use, but I honestly can’t imagine AI art becoming a real discipline. I think the most interesting thing about the album isn’t that it’s AI. Making a song with AI and releasing it as a regular single is not interesting to me. For listeners, it may be interesting, but not from a creative standpoint.
Œ: Max, the persona you created seems to be physically running. Who is Max, and where is he running to?
Hansen: Yeah, what inspired me was the idea of the non-stop. Sometimes, humans are in this non-stop mindset, not pausing, and always trying to self-optimise without an actual goal. It’s just about optimisation for the sake of optimisation, like running a non-stopping programme. Being confronted with this process made me think about a visual component that could represent it appropriately.
Œ: Which is where running comes in…
Hansen: Human beings only have a limited number of hours in a day to work, create and publish. This album overcomes the number of hours you can work… It’s working 24 hours a day. I wanted to translate it in a way that says: ‘Everyone is walking, but I’m running.’
I’m always a bit ‘ahead’ because while you’re eating or sleeping, Max is running. There is always this feeling of everybody being faster. The whole world is running, and I’m slow. I’m not enough.
Œ: Especially with social media, we always feel like we are running behind something...
Hansen: That was the feeling that evoked the idea for this project. After the album had been running for two or three days and people didn’t get that it was AI, I received messages saying: ‘How did you work so much?’. But the undertones were a bit envious. Those kinds of messages made me feel like I got the point across. I triggered people into the fear of thinking: ‘Am I not doing enough? I want to produce that much as well. He’s running faster than me.’
Œ: The mystery of this self-created tension within people causes them to question how to feel about themselves and where they exist…
Hansen: Usually, when you release a song, you are happy when people like it because it means you created something people can connect with. With this project, it’s different. I also enjoy people telling me they dislike it because it indicates that the project worked.
I saw a comment on TikTok yesterday calling the album out, saying it is a factory and this is not what music is meant to be. Even though it would be considered a hate comment, that is exactly the message I’m trying to get across. I am rethinking what feedback gives me validation, and I am realising that I also like a reaction that is not just a: ‘Great project!’
Œ: How do you see your role in the music industry? Is going against the grain something you feel called to do?
Hansen: I mean, it’s not like I’m trying to be different. I have a lot of ideas, and I am inspired by the circumstances of releasing music. I think publishing itself can also be an art form. The exploration of creating the context.
Sometimes, these albums feel more like art projects, even though I’m really not into the art scene at all. I’m into music, and my knowledge and network are very much in the realm of music. Still, creating projects like this is so outside of what is considered normal for the music industry.
Œ: That takes the average music consumer outside of their bubble, right? It reawakens their consciousness about what they are doing, which is very valuable…
Hansen: Yeah, safe! It’s really important to me that people experience this project through the act of listening to music more than seeing it solely as art. They shouldn’t feel like they are entering an art gallery because then they are not in the state of listening. I want it to be seen as a music project first and foremost.
Œ: Cool! What does music mean to “Max”?
Hansen: For Max, music is something to go further. Max wants to run forever and needs something to fill time with, so he uses music. It’s not how it sounds. It’s just a means to an end.
Œ: Is there anything else that you want to share?
Hansen: I’m excited to see where music consumption is going. This project is just one attempt to evaluate this. We’re confronted with so much music and consume so much that we forget to notice and pay attention to how we listen to it. Meanwhile, the how is changing faster than we can imagine.
It will for sure keep changing, and I’m excited to witness it because I think music is one of the best things. I’m very excited to see how humans will treat this magic moment of listening. Will music make it through the struggle?
