Yacht is a pop band from Portland, Oregon–and they are on a mission. In the documentary The Computer Accent, Yacht wants to create an entire album developed by artificial intelligence. They set parameters, determine what the rules are, and they power through, leaning on one another throughout the process. Things are far more challenging than they expected them to be, but they may have what it takes to be successful anyway.
Living a lifestyle that revolves entirely around music is not something that ever appealed to me. Constantly being on the road, insane hours, and the possibility that your hard work never pays off seems like a difficult life to live. But the part about making music that I always seem to forget exists is the part where these artists literally sit down and have to create music from scratch. To be honest, that aspect of the job doesn’t appeal to me either–but The Computer Accent shows a niche corner of the market in which Yacht exists, and it presents viewers with a clear and concise understanding of that part of the process. Again, it’s not something that appeals to me, but it’s also not something that I fully understand (and that’s likely part of the reason I’ve never found it appealing). What The Computer Accent does throughout is allow viewers to better appreciate the process that artists work through in order to have their music made–but with a twist.
Documentaries always aim to educate in one way or another, and The Computer Accent does that from the opening moments. This is very much a film about music, and it constantly reminds viewers of the beauty of creating and performing music. However, in a separate vein, The Computer Accent is a film about the constant progress of technology. Viewers are able to easily comprehend how the technologies used in the film work, and it effectively dumbs down the information enough that even I was able to comprehend the seemingly endless intricacies of what occurred throughout.
It was a brilliant touch to have a computer act as the narrator throughout The Computer Accent. It pulls viewers further into the idea that a computer is the catalyst for all that occurs throughout the film, and it’s interesting to have someone other than a human act as the guide through all of this.
I believe that The Computer Accent does a wonderful job of presenting Yacht in a way that viewers can appreciate their process and their music, however, I feel that it also presents them in a way that causes them to look entirely too strange to be likable. I’m certainly not saying that they aren’t a likable bunch, or that they are bad people–but there are moments throughout the course of The Computer Accent in which viewers will likely question their moral compass and other related things. This is bad for the film, and this is bad for the band. The things you hear in The Computer Accent related to their musical talent does nothing but build the band up, but some of the conversations that are presented to viewers work in the opposite fashion–and I can’t figure out why the documentary is constructed in this way.
Much like film, it’s incredibly difficult to find new and interesting ways to present music to the world, but Yacht has found a way to do so. The Computer Accent, too, is creative–and it brings Yacht’s journey to life with vigor and passion–driven very heavily by artificial intelligence and computers. While everything used to develop this story is wonderfully done, the juxtapositions in how the band itself is presented is odd. I can’t figure out why it’s done the way it is, but it paints them in a strange light, and the film suffers to a degree as a result. The Computer Accent is such a unique film, with its ups and downs, and while some aspects fail to reach viewers in the way that I believe they were intended, it’s interesting nonetheless.
Directed by Sebastian Pardo & Riel Roch Dector.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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