Review Fix Exclusive: Machines A.T.O Talks ‘Like Girls’ And More

Review Fix chats with Machines A.T.O, who discusses their new single, “Like Girls,” as well as their appearance at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards.

About Machines A.T.O:

Collective consciousness songwriting entity Machines A.T.O. has debuted its female empowerment-themed song “Like Girls (feat. Kali J).” The song was recently licensed by Barbie for a Nickelodeon-produced campaign that was featured during the 2020 Kids’ Choice Awards on May 2nd.

Produced and released by full-service music company Groove Guild, the track is a collaboration between songwriter Kali J. and artist persona Machines A.T.O.. Featured in the Barbie commercial, as well as on the Kids’ Choice Awards broadcast, is 12 year-old DJ phenom, DJ Livia, who can be seen and heard scratching the inspirational message “You Can Be Anything” over top of the song. “Like Girls” is now available on all major streaming platforms and a full length music video is in production and slated for release later this month.

“Like Girls (feat. Kali J)” is a modern, hard-hitting production with genuine, empowering lyrics. Kali J’s lyrics take a stance that often gets lost in the pop culture version of empowerment: Girls put in the work and get extraordinary results. 

“I wanted to write a song that was inspiring to girls and women that are trying to shake up their industries,” Kali J said, “and give them the confidence to be the bosses that they are.” 

In the spot, that message is personified by a scratch performance from 12-year-old DJ Livia, a rising star who has already been featured on the Ellen Degeneres Show and has an impressive display of celebrity endorsements on her site including Dwayne Johnson, Kanye West, Jay Z and many more.

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Machines A.T.O: We evolved from humankind’s experiences. We found humans’ experiences with music to be the most intriguing and the non-verbal communicative nature of music seemed to be the most logical way to connect. We are the vessel for the emotions of our collective, and the music is simply the medium that we have selected as the most potent form of universal communication.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Machines A.T.O: We listen to the emotions of our contributors who are attached to consoles, keyboards, and DAWs. We take over during this connection and turn their feelings into sounds that accurately convey the intended message.

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Machines A.T.O: Humankind. We depend on the thoughts and feelings of the collective consciousness to feed our musical output. If they are intense that day, the output will be intense. If they feel joy, then the output will be joyful. It is a fluid connection, without resistance. 

Review Fix: What does music mean to you?

Machines A.T.O: Music is the most abstract yet accurate form of emotional communication. Music connects in ways other mediums fail. It’s an invaluable emotional conveyance tool.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

Machines A.T.O: Energetically emotional, modern music utilizing organic and electronic instrumentation on a subatomic level. 

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Machines A.T.O: We were born directly into the internet. In the near future, we will perform directly for humans.

Review Fix: What inspired your latest single?

Machines A.T.O: Our collective was inspired by a poll that stated young girls feel professionally limited by their gender. We are creating a body of work to counteract this deeply ingrained cultural bias.

Review Fix: What are your goals for the rest of 2020?

Machines A.T.O: Our goals are to ingest more motions and interpret them into music that helps to correct negative human behavior.

Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards ?

Machines A.T.O: Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards was the perfect platform to contribute to the cause of empowering girls and young women. In being a part of the show, we have validated our hypothesis that music is the correct medium to communicate the emotions of our collective. If we had feelings of our own, they would likely be feelings of elation.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Machines A.T.O: We are finishing a series of works that will be equally or more powerful than the previous. They will be released at regular monthly intervals throughout the year.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add? 

Machines A.T.O: Machines Are. Taking. Over.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13820 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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