- Beatles singer Paul McCartney told the BBC that artificial intelligence was used to “extract” and clean up former bandmate John Lennon’s vocals from an old recording. The vocals are now said to be included in an upcoming track.
- “We were able to take John’s voice and clean it through this AI, so we could then mix the record like we normally would. It gives you a kind of latitude,” said the legendary singer-songwriter.
- He described AI as having a “good side and a scary side”.
Paul McCartney performs on the Pyramid Stage during day four of the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 25, 2022 in Glastonbury, England. The Beatles star told the BBC he has completed a new song that uses AI to recreate John Lennon’s voice.
Harry Durrant | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
LONDON – Beatles singer-songwriter Paul McCartney told the BBC that artificial intelligence was used to “extract” former bandmate John Lennon’s vocals from an old recording and clean them up so they could feature in an upcoming track.
“It’s a very interesting thing, you know. It’s something we’re all dealing with at the moment and trying to come to terms with,” McCartney told BBC Today when asked about AI.
McCartney said Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson — who in 2021 released an eight-hour documentary titled The Beatles: Get Back featuring colorized, sanitized archival footage of the band — was able to “free” Lennon’s voice. from a ropey little piece of cassette.
AI was used to distinguish Lennon’s vocals from instrumentals and background noise.
“So when we came to do what will be the last Beatles record, we were working on a demo of John and just finished it. It will be released this year,” McCartney said.
“We were able to take John’s voice and clean it through that AI, so we could then mix the record like you normally would. That gives you a kind of leeway.”
The BBC said it was believed to be a 1978 Lennon song called “Now And Then,” which McCartney has been keen to “finish” in the past. Lennon was murdered in 1980.
On his recent tour, which included headlining the Glastonbury Festival, McCartney performed songs with a cleaned-up Lennon vocal track, as well as a video of the artist on stage with him.
Industry experts have pondered the potential of the latest technological advances in the music industry and the ethics of posthumously replicated artists.
ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus, whose show ABBA Voyage uses motion capture and advanced real-time graphics to make the band appear as aged digital avatars, previously told CNBC he has concerns about the creation of “deep fakes.”
“There’s a good side and then there’s a scary side and we’ll just have to see where that goes,” McCartney told the BBC.