Mumbai-based musicians dissect the use of AI in Beatles' latest 'Now and then'

(From left) George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and John Lennon in a superimposed scene from the new video. PICs COURTESY/YOUTUBE

The Fab Four often acknowledged the pivotal role their sound engineer, George Martin played in shaping the band's distinctive sound, which earned him the title of the ‘fifth Beatle'. Long after Martin's passing, a new contender for that title has emerged - Artificial Intelligence (AI).

(From left) Harrison and Lennon in a still from the new music video

The ‘final' Beatles track, Now and then, released on November 2. Facilitated by AI technology, it features late John Lennon's vocals extracted from a ‘70s demo tape. Four city-based musicians share their thoughts on this futuristic experiment.

AI that inspires

As a songwriter, I am often faced with writer's block and that's when I use ChatGPT to source ideas and inspiration for lyrics. Additionally, for musicians who record their music at home, tools that help you refine the quality of your recordings are a boon.
Verdict: I'm all for the confluence of technology and music. If a tool facilitates the conception of a track like this, I would love to hear more of it.
Shreya Jain, songwriter, @shreyajainmusic

Quick tunes

It's the instantaneity that both concerns and interests me. There are tools that can virtually create a song in minutes. This might be great for casual enthusiasts, but it is also going to create clutter in the market. The shift from analogue to digital was a challenge to instrumentalists and engineers. With AI, it's the vocalists who will face the heat. But if you can't escape the wave, you might as well ride it.
Verdict: Being a tech nerd and a Beatles fan, who owns a shelf full of their LPs, I look at it as a refreshing prospect. I look forward to getting into the details to learn how it was achieved technically.
KJ Singh, music producer and sound engineer, @kjpahji

Vocals on demand

I used AI tools on my track O beta ji from the Netflix-original Ludo (2020), where I tweaked Kishore Kumar's original vocals to fit the modern rendition. There are vocalists around the world who have uploaded their voices to AI platforms like Musicfy where they can be used by composers to synthesise vocals in varied accents and tonal qualities without having to call the artist into the studio.
Verdict: I enjoyed the listening experience. It might sound a tad off to people as though it were the first time they were listening to a Beatles song in high fidelity, but the voice is still Lennon's and for that, I love the track.
Sunny MR, music composer, @sunnymr

One-man band

The most intriguing usage that I have come across is the tool DDSP (Differentiable Digital Signal Processing), that morphs your vocals into the notations of various musical instruments. I recently used it for the string section of a track that I was working on, in collaboration with YouTube India. The results are still not at par with how a trained musician would play, but I think it is slowly getting there.
Verdict: I'm old-school when it comes to classics. I listened to the track and I could instantly tell it lacks the charm the older songs have. I like my music when I know the artist was there and performed it with intention.
Mayur Jumani, multi-instrumentalist, @mayurjumani