Artificial intelligence has become one of the music industry's most hotly-debated topics over the past year. Some believe it has the potential to become a hugely useful tool for artists, musicians and producers, while others claim that left unchecked, it could eventually render us obsolete.
We've heard artists of all stripes weigh in on both sides of the issue in recent months, from David Guetta to Nick Cave. The latest music-maker to offer an informed opinion is producer, DJ and house music titan Chris Lake, who discussed the subject in a recent MusicRadar interview.
"I’m a technologist, and I love the possibilities of what technology can bring", Lake told us. "I’ve always taken the stance of embracing the potential benefits of what things can bring. I’m still trying to hold on to that with AI because I genuinely believe that huge benefits are going to come from it. But it really needs regulation. The possibilities are scary. The ways it can be abused are far beyond what most people understand."
"I hope that the true human touch can bring about something that ends up feeling beyond anything AI could ever bring," Lake continued. "It might end up understanding me and my music better than I do."
"I see it sometimes. I’ve seen videos of (human-created) track breakdowns, explaining how they’ve been made. Some of them are so fucking good, they’re explaining what I’m doing, and sometimes it’s stuff I didn’t realise I was doing. I had no idea I was doing that. But someone understood it on a deep level. Maybe AI can figure that out, too."
I’ve even released music that I’ve only monitored on laptop speakers
Elsewhere in the interview, Lake opened up about his favourite synth plugins and described learning to produce tracks using only his laptop speakers. "There was a moment about seven or eight years ago where I realised I was spending a ridiculous amount of time on the road [...] I realised that I had to teach myself how to make music when I was out and about. I kind of forced myself into being uncomfortable. I taught myself how to make music on a laptop and nothing else.
"I actually started making music just listening with the laptop speakers, using just the QWERTY keyboard instead of a MIDI keyboard to put in notes. Now I’m really good at it. I can make 80% of my music anywhere; in a noisy environment or a busy room. I feel like I understand the sound of the laptop speakers and I’ve even released music that I’ve only monitored on laptop speakers."
Read the full interview with Chris Lake or listen to his track In The Yuma below.
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