AI Mashups: Hear your favourite songs as you've never heard them before

Virgin Radio

29 Apr 2023, 17:58

Nirvana, The Beatles, and Queen have all received the AI treatment.

Everyone is talking about AI right now, with influential people like Elon Musk and Joe Biden worrying about its potential to take over our jobs, spread fake news, or even pose a existential threat to humanity.

But it's not all bad news. It's actually making some pretty fun music.

Okay, we're trying not to bring the vibe down here. It's probably bad news. We've seen Terminator 2. We know how this probably ends. But if you're a fan of music - and if you're not, why are you here? - then you've got to concede that the technologies ability to mix and match existing songs with people who never sang them, and in some cases aren't even alive anymore, is pretty interesting.

Maybe not good, but interesting. Drake might not agree.

We combed the internet for the most interesting AI mash-ups and asked noted UK music journalist James McMahon what he thought of them. This is what he had to say...

James says: "If you hang out in the right places on the Internet you can hear Kurt singing songs by his wife's band Hole - and Courtney singing Nirvana songs. This sounds more like Courtney's voice downturned than Kurt... but there are moments where it could be him, it really could."

James says: "I think were Freddie Mercury to attempt to perform 'Creep' by Radiohead it would sound infinitely more fabulous than this, and much less like he had a heavy head cold. But it's not a million miles away from what I imagine it sounding like. I can't imagine how close it'll sound in a year or so."

James says: "I genuinely believe that were you to take this recording to anyone on the planet - uncontacted tribes living deep within the rainforest, cosmonauts in orbit, Inuit communities living on frozen tundras, anyone - then nobody would say the vocal sounds anything like Michael Jackson."

James says: "George's vocal in the chorus doesn't really sound like George, but Ringo's world weary take in the verse is very good. I've always found the Oasis and Beatles comparisons a bit overstated, but this early Oasis tune sure does sound like a Beatles album track from their psychedelic period."

James says: "I sort of enjoyed this. The vocal does sound quite a bit like Rick Astley's blue-eyed soul. It didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much after reading the YouTube comment that said, "it sounds like he's eating a sandwich while singing". I couldn't listen to it in the same way after that."