If you heard Taryn Southern’s new single “Break Free” on the radio, you’d probably just keep driving or grocery shopping, or doing whatever you do in places that still have radios playing. The song is a big, moody ballad — the kind that might play during the climax of a Steven Spielberg movie. “Break Free” wasn’t composed by a John Williams copycat, but by artificial intelligence. The song is not a fluke or a novelty for Southern either; she’s using artificial intelligence platforms to create an entire album, called I AM AI. It’s the first LP to be entirely composed and produced with AI.
Southern used an open source AI platform called Amper Music to create the stems of “Break Free.” For each track, she plugs in genre, the instruments she wants to use, and beats per minute. In return, Amper churns out disjointed verses that can be rearranged into a song, and layered beneath Southern’s vocals. Southern told she’s toying with four other AI music platforms, but she’s not sure which of those will make the final album cut.
As an early YouTube adapter (her videos include popular covers, behind the scenes videos, and parody songs) Southern is used to figuring out ways to make new technology work for her. “[AI music] is such a new space that there aren’t a whole lot of players in it right now,” she says. “There are still some music platforms that haven’t yet released their software, so I’m excited to see what they put out and if I can integrate them at the last second, I would love to.”
By Lizzie Plaugic
Source: https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/27/16197196/taryn-southern-album-artificial-intelligence-interview