“If AI is going to be shaping the future, the real question is whether humanity will be shaping that future as well.”
What do you do when one of the biggest questions of our time becomes the subject of a dance track? That’s what Deptford Sound Collective have done with ‘Whoever Wins, AI Wins’ (out 23rd October 2026). The track is born out of President Trump’s comment ‘Whoever wins, AI wins’ and turns that very simple political statement into a much broader discussion about AI, power and the future of the ordinary person. It’s not a track that’s just going to be about AI or about AI being a bad thing. It’s a track that asks you to think about what the race to be at the forefront of technology actually means for us as a society. It’s a pretty bold subject for a dance track, and that’s precisely what makes it such an interesting release.
The Brazilian inspired dance sound of the track gives it a real energy. Deptford Sound Collective describe it as futuristic and groove heavy with a number of very catchy hooks to get you moving. The message is delivered through the music in such a way as to get you to move, but also to think. That is the essence of the track’s appeal. It’s got the energy of a dance track to get you involved, but the subject matter is there to make you think about what’s going on. The question isn’t just going to be will the technology get better and better, it’s going to be who will benefit from that and what we might lose in the process as we go along. By putting that serious conversation into a dance track of this nature it becomes accessible without in any way losing the weight of the subject. One of the most potent ideas in the song is its challenge to the priorities of politicians and the institutions that they represent. All the time we’re having grand debates about AI, the song asks why we don’t seem to be having the same level of debate about homelessness, poverty, war and inequality. It’s a very direct question and the song doesn’t pretend to have the answer. It’s simply asking you to consider the relationship between technological progress and human responsibility. AI may be changing the way we live and work but the song is asking whether that’s actually progress if people are still struggling with the most basic of needs and with social divisions. That’s what gives “Whoever Wins, AI Wins” more weight than a song that’s just going to be about a political story.
The collective are very keen to draw a line between their position and a wholesale rejection of technology. It’s not that they’re in any way anti-AI. The issue is with the priorities that have been placed on the race to develop it and the very real possibility that people could be left behind as the various institutions go head to head for advantage. That uncertainty is at the heart of the song’s central quandary: should we be afraid of AI or should we be embracing what it can do? By not answering that question for the listener they invite you to form your own view. The music is a springboard for discussion, using satire and a huge amount of dance energy to approach a subject which could otherwise be quite daunting and remote. The release is also very much in keeping with the ethos of the Deptford Sound Collective (a group of musicians, artists and community activists based in Deptford in SE London). They’re very much in the tradition of the protest songs of the 1960s in that they’re using music as a vehicle for bringing people together around social issues. Their #LoveNotHate message is about solidarity, civil liberties and resistance to division. Rather than treating activism and entertainment as separate things, they’re using catchy songs and shareable videos to get their message out. The video for “Whoever Wins, AI Wins” is an extension of that approach and there are a number of fan made short films which are also being used to promote the track. The group have also expressed their frustration at the way social media moderation is impacting their music, which adds another layer to their concerns about who gets to be heard in the digital world. “Whoever Wins, AI Wins” is both a dance track and a challenge to the listener. Deptford Sound Collective take a subject that’s been discussed in boardrooms, in political speeches and at tech conferences and bring it into the realm of hooks and rhythm and collective expression. It’s a track that gets you moving without asking you to turn your brain off. As the collective continues on its mission of putting social issues into popular music, this single makes their position very clear: technological advancement shouldn’t come at the expense of human dignity. You could be there for the future funk, you could be there for the satire, you could be there for the questions in the lyrics but you’re left with something to think about after the music has finished.
English