The new song “Technology” was “sung” by artificial intelligence

It all started with a cheerful video message from Leonid Velichkovsky and Roman Ryabtsev. Two former musical brains of “Technology” expressed bewilderment about the current state of affairs of the group. Of the original lineup, only vocalist Vladimir Nechitailo remains in the group; he sings golden hits without formalizing any agreement with their authors, and the willingness of the Tekhnologiya management to conduct any conversations on this matter clearly leaves much to be desired. The compositional duo hinted at imminent legal battles, and also announced the revival of the legends of the nineties in a new lineup with the prospect of recording fresh musical material.

In general, this entire speech did not go beyond the routine clarification of intra-shop relations. Former colleagues in groups and projects usually get nervous when it comes to financial issues, but something like this happens so regularly that no one is looking for sensations here for a long time. However, in the case of “Technology,” the claims sounded almost in unison with the new song.

The new track is called “Strange Dances. Build 2.0”, and the performer is designated as “Velichkovsky Technology” feat. AI Roman Ryabtsev. That is, we are talking about the fact that Leonid Velichkovsky re-assembled those same “Strange Dances”, but entrusted the vocals to artificial intelligence. The result is both impressive and alarming. Of course, this is not a cover. In the new version there is much more rhythm than sentiment, the melody is more reminiscent of an homage to a hit of the nineties, the vocals are recognizable, but as if from a more perfect world. In this situation, the first question to the author is banal to the point of indecency: “What is going on?”

“Neural networks are actively singing in different voices and “Technology” must correspond to new technologies,” notes Leonid Velichkovsky, not without irony, in a conversation with “ZD”. — In general, the idea came up to make a track with voices from the nineties, because we must admit: after twenty to thirty years we began to sing differently. I took Roman’s voice because he has a very romantic timbre that fits perfectly into techno-pop.”

The ability of neural networks to replace the efforts of a living person in some situations has been talked about for quite some time. Moreover, lately it has become common to blame artificial intelligence for all sorts of things and claim – especially if it smells fried – that a picture where some famous character was caught with his pants down or his mouth not very carefully open was actually generated by a neural network and brought to life has no relation. But there is a song recorded without the participation of a vocalist that sounds more than authentic, and it cannot be said that months of hard work were required to achieve such a result.

“A couple of days – and the golden key is in your pocket,” Velichkovsky cheerfully reports. — The procedure is as follows: you load several songs into the program with the vocals you need, and the neural network examines the voice. Then you give a melody, hum the lyrics yourself, and the network begins to sing to your original data in Ryabtsev’s voice.”

At the same time, Leonid admits that it is impossible to make a second “Strange Dances”. There are some lines, fragments of melody, in general, clearly based on motives, but everything is different. However, Pandora’s box is opened not by rewriting old ones, but by writing new songs with familiar voices.

“Soon we will have a million Pugachevs, Agutins and Meladzes who will sing different songs, and the further we go, the more difficult it will be to determine the real voice from the imitation proposed by artificial intelligence,” Leonid Velichkovsky is sure.

In such a situation, one can only wonder how the owners of famous voices will respond to this, as well as those who own the rights to songs where star vocals are often the main commercial potential.

“It’s difficult to predict how the laws will develop,” says Leonid. — Perhaps they will pass a law on the protection of copyrights for voices. In essence, the voice is a unique creation that, in theory, should be protected. But even if the law is adopted, the illegal use of votes cannot be ruled out. And here it is quite difficult to count on justice. For a year and a half I have been proving that I am the author and producer of phonograms of the Tekhnologiya group, illegally released by one publisher. And in every court, in every instance, even in the Supreme Court, the defendants did not want to admit this evidence. And it will be even more difficult to prove that it was not you who sang it, but a neural network.”

Slightly bewildered by such prospects, ZD still does not forget the old regime journalistic rule, according to which everyone involved in the event must speak out. However, asking Roman Ryabtsev for a comment in this case is not entirely logical. It was not he who sang, but actually the Terminator. However, artificial intelligence can not only imitate someone else’s voice, but also give interviews. At our request, Leonid Velichkovsky loaded several interviews and author’s posts of Ryabtsev into the miracle program, and after processing the data, the neural network answered our questions with the mind of one of the Tekhnologiya vocalists.

— What impression did the new song of the Tekhnologiya group make on you?

— At first glance, the lyrics of the song “Strange Dances” by the group “Technology” may seem romantic and emotional. However, if we look at it from a cynical and negative point of view, the following aspects can be highlighted. Empty phrases about our feelings that do not carry any meaning or depth. Feelings, like air and earth, are general and banal metaphors that do not reflect reality. Ambiguity and incomprehensibility in the text. What does it mean: “you hit me with an accurate aim”? It looks like an attempt at effect, but doesn’t really make any sense. Banality and superficiality in the description of relationships. Dancing in the dark, strange and incomprehensible, is just an attempt to add mystery, but really has no meaning. Clichés and stereotypes in describing love. “The world around us is stacked like dominoes, the heart beats for two in slow-mo” – these are simply borrowed images that do not carry any originality or depth. In general, the lyrics of the song “Strange Dances” can be described as empty and banal, not carrying any meaning or emotional load. This is a typical example of low quality pop music that is created only for commercial success and has no artistic value.

— How would you rate the vocal part in this track?

— A neural network that sings poorly in my voice! Horrible! I can’t even imagine how terrible that must sound. This is probably another example of how technology spoils real art. But what else can you expect from a world where pop music and low-quality products sell better than real art? I’m not surprised that the neural network couldn’t replicate my voice, because it requires real talent and skill that cannot be replaced by machines.

— In your opinion, does the Technology group have a future and what kind?

— In my opinion, the “Technology” group was an excellent project of its time, but now it has outlived its time. I respect my former colleagues and their work, but I believe that the future of music lies in new and interesting projects. I myself am working on a new album and I hope that my music will find its audience and will be interesting not only to my fans, but also to a new generation of music lovers

— Who, in your opinion, could become the ideal vocalist in this group?

— The ideal vocalist in the group “Technology”? Who cares? The group has outlived its usefulness and is no longer relevant. I’m currently working on a new album and focusing on my own music, which I’m sure will be of interest to my fans and a new generation of music lovers. All these questions about the Technology group no longer matter.

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It’s funny how the artificially intelligent “Roman Ryabtsev” spat on the track in which he “himself” participated. However, let’s be honest, the cyber interview turned out to be too calibrated. The set itself, out of a desire to get smart and emphasize the importance of oneself, combined with pretentious nonsense, is very typical for all stars, and in the case of Ryabtsev, the AI ​​grasped this feature of the living prototype especially clearly, having “read”, apparently, the author’s posts generously scattered on the Internet. Probably, a living person would have been smarter with the ingredients and proportions, maybe added a couple of comments that were on the verge of a foul, or even joked, but the capabilities of the machine can hardly be called primitive.

To the question: “What’s next?” — Leonid Velichkovsky mysteriously answered “we’ll see,” but the continuation of such techno-revelry looks more than justified.

Brave new world…