What if Kurt Cobain had not killed himself? What if Jim Morrison decided to decided to quit drinking in Paris? What if Jimi Hendrix decided he didn’t need sleeping pills. What if Amy Winehouse was able to stay off drugs? Would the music world be much different today? The Over The Bridge organization has tried to imagine that with the help of Artificial Intelligence. Yes, they had robots try to re-create the music of these legends, not to try to cash in but to bring awarenss. This is their message:
“As long as there’s been popular music, musicians and crews have struggled with mental health at a rate far exceeding the general adult population. And this issue hasn’t just been ignored. It’s been romanticized, by things like the 27 Club—a group of musicians whose lives were all lost at just 27 years old.
To show the world what’s been lost to this mental health crisis, we’ve used artificial intelligence to create the album the 27 Club never had the chance to. Through this album, we’re encouraging more music industry insiders to get the mental health support they need, so they can continue making the music we all love for years to come.
Because even AI will never replace the real thing.”
I know what you’re thinking: “What the hell is going on?”
Engineers fed the music of these artists in to an Artificial Intelligence algorithm. The AI then created musical parts based on the characteristics of the artist like melodies, guitar chords, choruses, ect. When the AI was finished, engineers took those parts and composed “new” music. Here’s their take on a Nirvana style song called “Drowned In The Sun” with vocals by Eric Hogan of the Nirvana tribute band Nevermind:
Personally, I don’t think it comes close to capturing the spirit of Nirvana’s music but it’s still creepy. As this system evolves will we be able to crank out “new” tracks from Alice In Chains? The Beatles? Pink Floyd? Add this to the hologram technology they used for Michael Jackson and Ronnie James Dio and who knows what could happen? Or what could be real?
Check out The Lost Tapes Of The 27 Club’s versions of The Doors, Hendrix, and Amy Winehouse here.
