Abba singer Björn Ulvaeus teases fanatics in London with AI-assisted musical

After bringing a blockbuster hologram model of Abba to a purpose-built venue in east London, Björn Ulvaeus’s subsequent technological exploration is a musical that he’s written with the assistance of synthetic intelligence.

Ulvaeus advised an target audience at SXSW London that he used to be “three-quarters” of the best way thru writing a brand new musical which he has created with the aid of AI songwriting equipment.

He did admit the generation had barriers in terms of songwriting, announcing it used to be “lousy at [writing a whole song]” and “very bad at lyrics” however used to be useful on every occasion the 80-year-old songwriter reached an artistic deadlock.

“You can prompt a lyric you have written about something, and you’re stuck maybe, and you want this song to be in a certain style,” Ulvaeus mentioned.

“You can ask it, how would you extend? Where would you go from here? It usually comes out with garbage, but sometimes there is something in it that gives you another idea.”

The use of AI is a vastly contentious factor within the tune business.

This 12 months, Dua Lipa and Paul McCartney have been amongst loads of artists who signed an open letter urging the top minister to give protection to artists’ copyright and no longer “give our work away” to important tech.

Ulvaeus mentioned AI isn’t the inventive risk however reasonably a collaborator. “It’s fantastic. It is such a great tool,” he added. “It is like having another songwriter in the room with a huge reference frame. It is really an extension of your mind. You have access to things that you didn’t think of before.”

The musical is a ways from Ulvaeus’s first flirtation with generation.

Abba Voyage, the live performance which introduced 3 years in the past in a purpose-built area that featured virtual avatars of the band, has been an enormous good fortune and used to be described as a “dazzling retro-futurist extravaganza” via the Guardian.

It used to be a dangerous mission as Pophouse Entertainment, the corporate at the back of the venture wanted to herald £140m with a view to spoil even.

He advised the target audience at SXSW London that he embraced experimental approaches to songwriting and studio generation a lot previous in his profession.

This experimental means is function of Ulvaeus’s career-long fascination with technological innovation.

During his time in Abba, he together with bandmate Benny Andersson “always wanted the latest thing”, and have been a number of the first to make use of the Mini Moog synthesizer and use virtual recording machines of their studio.

“We were always on the lookout for, you know, you would hear a sound on the record. How was that done? And then you get that stuff,” mentioned.

The Abba songwriter advised the target audience that he sees AI as the most recent evolution in his profession reasonably than a risk which is how it’s perceived via many.

“I actually wake up curious every morning,” Ulvaeus mentioned, explaining the pressure that has saved him developing many years after Abba’s top. “Everything’s really after our wanting to try new things.”