Ryan Tedder & Kygo are turning their Bored Ape NFTs into a band with actual musicRyan Tedder & Kygo are turning their Bored Ape NFTs into a band with actual music

L- Kygo, R – Ryan Tedder; Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella

Back in 1998, Damon Albarn from the British group Blur started Gorillaz: a “virtual” group of animated musicians drawn by artist Jamie Hewlett, with real, famous musicians playing the actual songs made by the “band.” Well, just to prove that everything old is new again, OneRepublic‘s Ryan Tedder and DJ/producer Kygo have teamed up to create their own “virtual” group…out of their cartoon NFTs.

Both Ryan and Kygo own “Bored Ape” NFTs, which depict various cartoon apes, each of which is generated by an algorithm. Justin Bieber and Madonna are among the other celebrities who’ve purchased Bored Ape NFTs. Now, Ryan and Kygo have put theirs together in a “metaverse band” called Bored Brothers.

Bored Brothers’ first “single” — which is also an NFT, natch — arrives Friday at 5 p.m. ET. It’s called “DRIP.”  No word on what it sounds like, but the description says Bored Brothers’ music is “based primarily in dance and hip-hop” and “stems from an overwhelming desire to curate and create music outside our respective genres.”

OneRepublic and Kygo have also collaborated on a few singles in the past, most recently “Lose Somebody,” which came out in 2020.

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