LO 10: Computer Music

American Folk Songs Album

Benoit Carré is a french musician who created Skygga, his avatar alias, for AI-generated music. The Album “American Folk Songs” was released in 2019, using Flow Machines tools developed by Sony CLS. In this playlist, Carré “revisits American traditional folk songs with a prototype of an AI harmonization tool.” It takes acapella recording from many classic American folk singers and uses AI “to flesh out the melodies and the lyrics of the songs, enriching them with lush harmonies and sounds generated by AI that have never been heard before.” I really admire Carré’s work as it is an intriguing marriage of old folk music and modern electronic music. One song that I really enjoyed from the playlist is “Black Is the Color,” featuring the voice of Pete Seeger, a legendary folk singer. I was first introduced to Seeger during high school as he was a proud alumnus of the school. Hearing his voice with a new twist, therefore,  is very cool and interesting to me.

Creator: Benoit Carré

Year: 2019

Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/6NbX54oOpEZhSOjfdSYepw?si=qh6e45bQTMSh1LC4IX-R6w

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