Eclipse Nkasi, a Nigerian producer, has used artificial intelligence (AI) to create a new Afrobeats album.
Nkasi was initially worried that AI would make his job obsolete, but he soon realised that it could also be used to create new opportunities.
He and three friends used OpenAI’s ChatGPT programme to auto-generate the lyrics and song titles for the album, which is called “Infinite Echoes”. They then modified the words themselves to fit into their chosen theme: a struggling artist who will not give up their passion to create music.
Another AI tool was used to generate the tunes for the album, and Nkasi recorded some vocals, which were then fed into an app that transformed them into the voice of the album’s generated singer, Mya Blue. Mya Blue appears in front of her audience online as a computer animation.
Nkasi believes that AI can be used to improve production values and other technical aspects of the recording process, but he also acknowledges that there are still some uncertainties, such as copyright, that need to be considered.
“We are at the very beginning,” he said.
Music critic Omotolani Alake agrees that AI is transforming the music industry, but he believes that there are still some challenges to be overcome.
“There are certain things that will become obsolete” due to AI, he said. “But it should also create opportunities for artists to reinvent themselves and do their work better and quicker.”
The use of AI in the music industry is still in its early stages, but it is clear that it has the potential to revolutionise the way music is created and consumed.
