This Musician Created an AI to Write Songs For Him, And They're Pretty Strange

An “auxiliary human” composed the lyrics and melodies.

AMANUENSIS

Iranian composer Ash Koosha has never shied away from technology. He's performed live for his fans in virtual reality (VR) and even used VR to recreate his experience of synesthesia.

Koosha's latest endeavor pushes the boundaries again. This time, he created an entire album in collaboration with an artificial intelligence (AI). The result is pretty weird.

 

AUX CORD

On Friday Koosha released his fourth album, "Return 0," which features music created by Yona, AI-powered software Koosha created but that he refers to as an “auxiliary human.”

“Yona’s engine is comprised of a series of generative software that generates sentences, melodies (Midi information), and singing via a complex text-to-speech process,” he told Dazed Media.

Koosha sang Yona's creations himself for "Return 0." While the album received a middling  6/10 from Pitchfork, the notoriously choosy music magazine did concede that "these human-sung vocals are probably the most satisfactory part of Return 0." In other words, Yona's composing skills might need some work.

BETTER TOGETHER

This isn't the first example of AI that's tapped into its creative side. We've already seen AIs paint portraits, compose poems, and write scripts.

It could be a sign, though, that the best use of AI in the creative space might not be as a solo artist but as a collaborator.

 

READ MORE: Ash Koosha – "Return 0" [Pitchfork]

More on creative AI: Artificial Intelligence Is Automating Hollywood. Now, Art Can Thrive.