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David Bowie meets multiple versions of himself through AI in the new music video directed by Andreas Hykade.
In this trippy collaboration between acclaimed animation director Andreas Hykade and AI artist Isabel Kohlhagen, a parade of Bowie personas morph in and out of different phases of the musician’s career, perfectly capturing his ever-evolving identity.
Hykade, long known for his distinctive drawing style, reflects on his interest in artificial intelligence and his decision to incorporate it into his new film, Dr. Dr. Themefart, Frustrating Himself, Posed As Gay Old Nazi SS:
A couple of years ago, the various potentials of something called ‘artificial intelligence’ started to become visible. ‘Jesus bloody Christ!,’ I thought. ‘This will change our business completely.’ So I met with Maximilian Pfisterer from Frischvergiftung, and we started experimenting with AI.
At first, we implemented some of my drawings into the system, but the results were disappointing — just vague, unfocused images. So we decided to limit the machine’s archive to my own drawings. We had to teach it that style is based on limitations. These tests worked.
In December 2024, Hykade attended a concert by The Sound of Money. When he noticed that one song, “Dr. Dr. Themefart, Frustrating Himself, Posed as Gay Old Nazi SS” — an anagrammatic exorcism of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars — was on their new album, he knew it was the perfect choice.
“David Bowie is this ever-changing wizard,” says Hykade. “That fits perfectly with our AI tests! And if Bowie were still alive, one thing is for sure: he would be experimenting with AI. I created 26 drawings for the film and wrote a precise script for every bar and beat of the song. Then the magic happened: I was able to collaborate with AI artist Isabel Kohlhagen, and the communication between her, me, and the machine really developed its flow. One basic rule guided us: we, the human artists, had to be the driving forces of this operation. After three weeks, the music video was finished.”
Hykade has created animation for both young audiences and adults, blending his minimalist design with moments of lavish, psychedelic imagery. His stories often explore childhood memories, identity, love, desire, death, and addiction. His award-winning short films include We Lived in Grass (1995), Ring of Fire (2000), The Runt (2006), Love & Theft (2010), Nuggets (2015), and Altötting (2020).
The song comes from The Sound of Money’s latest album, Two: Rhyme On – An Anagrammatic Exorcism of the 70s. The video was produced by Stuttgart-based companies Studio Film Bilder and Frischvergiftung.
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