Music producer Leslie Mandoki is not convinced of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the studio. “We experimented with AI out of interest, the results were sometimes scary,” said the 70-year-old of the German Press Agency. “But the AI texts lack any emotional depth.” It is precisely the emotions that transport and define art as a combination of music and text. “In this respect, AI as a creative element in music plays no role for me.”
Paul McCartney recently announced that he would use AI to release a new final Beatles song featuring the late John Lennon. For this purpose, Lennon’s singing on the old demo recording was isolated from everything else that could be heard, the instruments and other noises, and the sound was restored for a new production.
“AI can help to speed up such a complex, tedious work process,” says Mandoki. Here it would only go to the processing of the recording. In principle, the producer rejects any form of artificially generated voice cloning. “That’s where the fun ends! AI is a new challenge that raises fundamental ethical questions.” And that, according to Mandoki, goes far beyond the music.
To honor the deceased band members of his 30-year-old Mandoki Soulmates, such as Jack Bruce and Michael Brecker, the musician himself relies on outtakes from past production phases. In his studio in Tutzing on Lake Starnberg, the Soulmates “always recorded significantly more material” than needed.
In September, the Soulmates, which include trumpeter Till Brönner, Jethro Tull boss Ian Anderson and jazz and fusion musician Mike Stern, will be giving concerts in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Dresden and Leipzig. In addition, a new album entitled “A Memory of my Future” is planned for 2024. With the first single from the album, “Devil’s Encyclopedia”, which is available since Thursday today, Mandoki addresses the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the radicalization of society through social media. “Some people no longer know what and who to believe,” says Mandoki.
