My Top 5 AI Music Picks
I listened to all the AI Song Contest entries and identified 5 trends.
The AI Song Contest, launched in 2020, is a competition that explores AI’s potential for music.
Sometimes has been described as the Eurovision of music AI.
Teams from various countries develop original songs with AI tools, supporting the artistic development of AI music.
I listened to all 165 AI Song Contest entries, and identified 5 trends:
Embrace the uncanny.
Multi-genre AI music.
AI music that reflects your culture.
Lazy artwork.
More (!!!) Chinese and African AI music.
Embrace the Uncanny
Frustratingly, most music AI sounds too human-like.
What’s the sound of AI music?
GANTASMO and Caramel Freeman explored the uncanny.
Let’s embrace the uncanny as trap singers embraced the sound of the auto-tune.
Or as hip-hop leaned into the sound of the TR-808.
Or as techno grooves to the beat of the TR-909.
Or as rock relies on distorted guitar sounds.
Multi-Genre AI Music
As AI masters many genres, multi-genre music has become an exciting direction for music AI artists.
Before, musicians had to dedicate years to learn a specific genre.
Now, AI can seamlessly blend and produce music in multiple (and potentially new) genres.
AI Music That Reflects Your Culture
The 2022 and 2024 winners explored themes tied to their specific regions:
South America (Onda Corta): explored the “AI biases about our region”.
อสุระเทวะชุมนุม (Yaboi Hanoi): explored “ways AI can empower Southeast Asian instruments” whilst “respecting fundamental aspects of tradition like native tunings and melodic inflections”.
The video is a tribute to Galician singer, Ana Kiro (1942-2010), blending tradition with innovation to preserve local heritage. With the support of Kiro’s family.
Just as chefs blend innovation with local flavors, AI musicians experiment with modern creativity to honor cultural traditions.
Lazy Artwork
Loved the concept of “the laziness complex” piece by Forest Little Music: “Lazy artwork, lazy sound, lazy production and a lazy, relaxing mood”.
AI music offers artists an opportunity to engage with and critically explore AI.
In doing so, musicians can challenge dominant narratives and reshape them.
Is AI music lazy artwork?
More (!!!) Chinese and African AI Music
Maybe due to language barriers, I struggle to find AI musicians from China and Africa.
But I refuse to accept that the Chinese and African scene isn’t huge.
CAN YOU HELP ME FIND CHINESE AND AFRICAN AI MUSIC? 🥲
I enjoyed the “Overfitting” piece by the Asian Culture Research Team from China.
Disclaimer. The views expressed are my own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of my employer.