Latent imprints
by Sveið
Federico Reuben - laptop improvisation / live coding
James Mainwaring - saxophone
Emil Karlsend - drums
Rising UK Trio Sveið Unleashes Human-AI Improv Collaboration That Will Blow Your Mind Wide Open
Pioneering the digital age just got better and 577 Records officially invites you to witness it. Experimental UK-based trio Sveið just released a new album — and it’s wildly futuristic. Latent Imprints presents the musical confluence of man and machine as they traverse the complex landscape that is AI evolution. You’ve got to experience it!
The recording comes to life where the worlds of avant-garde, improvisation, and modern technology collide. It explores the concept of “latent space”, a cutting-edge phenomenon in AI music. Within a multidimensional space, the machine’s infinite calculations generate combinations of sound, timbre, and rhythm — and then human talent takes it to the next level.
Sveið is an AI-powered group comprised of saxist James Mainwaring, drummer Emil Karlsen, and electronic artist, “laptop improviser”, and live coder Federico Reuben. They are known for their predictably unpredictable sound born from their fascinating, entangled relationship with artificial intelligence.
All eleven tracks on Latent Imprints are named after mythological creatures from around the world — each spelled with a cyber twist. They reflect the mythological qualities that emerge in generative AI outputs when influenced by real-life musicians. In a time when AI is deeply woven into our daily life and often seen as a threat to creativity, this release fully illuminates the nuanced and ever-expanding potential for artists to adapt to, learn from, and challenge this technology.
“The album imagines AI as a contemporary, post-digital myth: a repository of glitched, shape-shifting creatures whose uncanny sounds both disrupt and extend human music-making,” the group explains. “Entirely improvised and recorded in a single session, the album unfolds as a narrative that examines the shifting dynamics between humans and AI.“ It opens with a collaborative ecosystem where humans and AI symbiotically co-create. As the album progresses, the drummer and saxophonist are increasingly tested by — and temporarily replaced with — uncanny AI clones.
About Sveið
Sveið is a new UK-based power trio, powered by AI, featuring saxophonist James Mainwaring, laptop improviser and live coder Federico Reuben, and Norwegian improvising drummer Emil Karlsen.
CREDITS
releases June 26, 2025
Recorded on May 17, 2024 by Alex Mackay in York, United Kingdom
Assistant Engineer: Sherry Yeh
Mixed by Alex Mackay
Mastering by Stephan Mathieu at Schwebung Mastering
Produced by Federico Reuben and Alex Mackay
James Mainwaring – saxophone
Federico Reuben – laptop improvisation/live coding
Emil Karlsen – drums
Artwork by Erin Robinson
Photography by Michael Hodges
Graphic design by Sergio Vezzali and Mark Smith
All music by James Mainwaring (PRS), Federico Reuben (PRS), Emil Karlsen (TONO)
AI models (RAVE, Caillon & Esling, 2021) trained at the University of York, Intelligent Instruments Lab (IIL), and IRCAM.
With support from the School of Arts and Creative Technologies, University of York.
Special thanks to 577 Records and the University of York.
577 Records is an independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York operating since 2001
577 Records
Brooklyn, New York
www.577records.com
©+℗ 2025