It seems everywhere you turn various companies are popping up in the realm of generative AI for music like it’s ‘the latest thing’ – just in the past couple of weeks we’ve seen launches of both Suno and Udio. But generative AI for music is not nascent – it’s been around for decades in various forms; it’s just that over the past decade or so, the machine learning and compute power has caught up with the vision, making the process of leveraging computer technology to create songs on the fly much more seamless. Read on to learn more about the evolution of this game-changing technology and its impact.
Music has came a long way from the recording studio, Techno music stands out to me as the first type of “AI” music that used a computer to make sounds, which started getting popular in the 1980’s. A quote from Detroit techno music creator Juan Atkins - "Techno and electronic music are synonymous, it was music born out of technology basically, and produced from all electronic instruments and also computers and sequencers and drum computers and everything that developed out of the technological movement,”
Also, here is a song for the love of music
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Indeed Sean - I put myself through college (playing with Moog synthesizers) & working at Keyboard/Guitar Player magazines when MIDI was just coming on the scene. Heady times & it could be argued some of the earliest, most progressive days of AI for the music (certainly at that time!!). And I love Lou Rawls & this song; good choice! 
Last night I saw the ‘generative’ documentary of Brian Eno by Gary Hustwit at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater in SF. I highly recommend it. According to Hustwit, the film is generated on the fly each time it is screened by drawing upon an archive of pre-edited and collated material. The equipment that puts it all together is (appropriately) named, ‘Brain One’, and was assembled by teenage engineering.
Many of us at the screening were total Eno fans, so we asked if Hustwit could create a 24 hr Eno channel where the film simply runs endlessly, assembling itself as it goes along. I think he hopes to come up with some kind of compromise with existing screeners but, of course, they don’t have the tech to do this (yet).
I include this here because it’s the first attempt at a generative film and the process behind it might not be ‘AI’ per se but it’s getting there. I would look upon this as the genesis of generative filmmaking and applaud Mr Hustwit for starting the conversation by providing the first, commercial prototype.
In the Q&A he said he’d be doing multiple night screenings, starting with the Roxy, which fans could go to every night to see something different.
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I’m so pleased that you got to witness the Eno film with the generative experiences. I got the bug for interactive film with one of the earliest examples in the market when I attended a Worlds Fair back in the 70s as a kid – it was called Kino Automat. Essentially, two Czech-filmed comedies were screened in which the audience was allowed to vote, with buttons at each seat, on the direction of the plot at key intervals. There were adult and children versions. I sat through it several times with different audiences to experience a variety of outcomes with each viewing. I’ve been waiting all these years for interactive film to become a thing at scale commercially – now it seems AI is playing a key role in making this type of scenario a reality at long last.
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sounds cool, just got a ticket to see in Detroit, looking forward to it!
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Let us know what you thought of it.
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I enjoyed the film and thought it was fantastic. The scene starting in Brian’s Garden, it gave me an insight into his personality. He made a comment that without nature we wouldn’t be doing anything, by finding creativity in nature I get a sense of connection with him. For me the film got to the roots of human emotions and asked the question of why do we like art and why do we like music? I was introduced to some cool new songs from the records Brian was playing in the film while singing and dancing, it was a great experience and I got to hang out afterwords for a Q&A session with the director Gary. He shared some great stuff about the technology used in the film and what’s in motion for the future. It would be fun to play around with going back to some of your favorite movies and watch alternate endings or have new movies released where the audience can choose between what version they want to see, re-watching the same thing but experiencing something completely different.
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Thanks for sharing your experience with the film Sean. I’m SO envious that you and David were able to see it – and I’ve not as yet, because as I shared in my reply to what he posted I’ve been waiting for this type of experience with films/tech and audience interactivity for decades. I agree it could be great fun to be able to return to some of your favorite movies and play around with alternate endings OR to allow the audience to have difference experience with difference outcomes. Really underscores the meaning of leaning in doesn’t it?
My version didn’t start out with Eno in his garden, so, there you go! We had a different movie experience. He did do some pontificating in a park towards the end, so I might have seen the scene you saw or something completely different. Either way, we would have had a different take on it, even if it was the same scene because scene and cut ordering can sell a very different idea, as many editors can attest to.
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The first movie I ever saw as a child was the Lion King and it is very special to me and nostalgic. I also just realized talking about this topic that they did something similar to this idea with the version Lion King 1 ½ telling the same story but from Timon and Pumbaa’s perspective, I’m excited to see what happens moving forward.
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