Matt Bellamy thinks the younger generation is “gravitating” towards “real” music because their lives are increasingly dominated by AI.
The Muse frontman said he gets a clear view of Gen Z and Gen Alpha through his blended family.
He told The Sun: “My stepson with Kate [Hudson], Ryder, is 22 and he’s just graduated from NYU. Then Bing is 14, and I’ve got the two little ones as well. Having a boy who’s 22 and a boy who’s 14 means I get a real sense of what’s going on in their generation.”
Matt believes their tastes are shifting as a result.
He said: “I think that generation is turning away from pop, hip‑hop and dance a little bit. They’re seeking raw, chaotic‑sounding music.
“I think the reason why is because that generation is drowned by AI. AI is dominating everything they do, from schoolwork to music and the arts. I could be wrong but from what I sense from them, they’re gravitating towards what they know to be real.”
Muse have just returned with their new album The Wow! Signal, which marks the first time the band has featured another artist.
Ellie Goulding appears on the heavy track Hush; a collaboration Matt credits to producer Dan Lancaster and a nudge from Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
He told NME: “Chris actually got me a Christmas present one year, and it was a book called The Collaborative Way. It was his way of saying, ‘You’re an auto dictator, you need to learn to collaborate’. I read the book and I was like, ‘F***, of course he’s right’. I only managed to pull it off on one song on this album. Dan put together a little writing team, so Hush is the first time we’ve done a collaborative co‑write.”
Ellie’s involvement happened by chance.
He said: “By absolutely sheer coincidence, Ellie Goulding was working next door with Marshmello.
“I’ve bumped into Ellie a bunch of times over the years and we’ve talked about doing something. She just popped her head in at about 11pm. She asked to listen… and someone asked her to sing on it. We just turned it into a duet at that point. She sang it in a couple of takes and an hour‑and‑a‑half later, we had the song.”