10 recordings that harness AI

1. Outside David Bowie, 1995

While not strictly speaking ‘AI’ in the modern sense, Bowie’s use of the Verbasizer software to concoct new lyrical ideas was something of a digital continuation of the randomising ‘cut-up’ technique he’d relied on for earlier works. Many of the tracks on Bowie’s hidden gem Outside were mapped out of these computer-suggested ideas.

Not Easy Alex Da Kid, 2016

A collaboration between Dr Dre and Eminem producer Alex Da Kid and IBM’s cultural learning and idea-forming digital intelligence, Watson. Told to investigate the theme of ‘heartbreak’, Watson provided Alex with a suitable rhythmic, lyrical and chordal foundation. The stunning results also featured Wiz Khalifa, Elle King and X Ambassadors.

Return 0 Ash Koosha/Yona, 2018

Created by Iranian composer Ash Koosha in conjunction with artificial intelligence Yona,

Return 0 is a sometimes beautiful, sometimes challenging work that emphasises its innovative conceit in its futuristic arrangements. Capable of generating melodic sequences and even its own lyrics and singing, we’re very keen to see what Yona does next.

Smartbeats Toro Y Moi, 2019

Built in tandem with commercially available AI soundscape designer Endel, American producer and songwriter Toro Y Moi built up a series of four tracks for the purposes of promoting Glaceau Smartwater. The

Smartbeats EP contains the tranquil and emotive fruits of his – and his virtual assistant’s – labours.

Proto Holly Herndon, 2019

Harnessing ‘Spawn’, Herndon’s self-trained AI vocal generator, Proto’s melding of the characterful artistic sensibilities of Herndon, and the twisting, rule-bending Spawn result in a captivating listen. Its glitchy, computer-ised textures battles against Holly’s creative persona in fascinating ways, ultimately leading to the aural equivalent of the merging of the two.

Shadow Planet The Cotton Modules, 2021

Examining the space between human composition and AI-driven arrangements, Oakland-based duo The Cotton Modules’ debut is a remarkable listen. Working with machine learning decision-maker Jukebox, the record swims in ambient, evolving textures and loops. In making the record, the duo came to regard this other sentience as an instrument that they needed to learn how to work with.

Hello World SKYGGE w/ collaborators, 2018

Benoit Carré presented Sony CSL’s Flow Machines with ideas, which the AI then built out. He took that and made a solid pop record. Rather than a neural network, Flow Machines used ‘Markov chains’, probability equation generators that need less data to work.

I Am AI Taryn Southern, 2018

Perhaps the most high-profile AI-built record on the list. YouTube superstar Taryn Southern’s eight-track LP was constructed with music composition fine-tuner Amper. Southern’s work received widespread press.

The Lost Tapes The 27 Club, 2021

A novel idea, to encourage musicians to speak openly about mental health. The 27 Club used AI to make new tracks, based on the music of those famous, epoch-making musicians who oddly all left us at the age of 27. With real vocalists replacing the late singers, this is AI used for the human act of remembrance.

Music Samples in Style of RATM, Vol. 1 AI Kittens, 2021

Similarly to The 27 Club project, this album was created by an AI which studied the typical structure of the rap metal quartet’s canon and generated short samples, which artists AI Kittens carved into robust guitar workouts.