Participants 2022
Jeune Faune
AI Song Contest 2022 / participantsTEAM / Jeune Faune
SONG / Hold My Treasure
TEAM MEMBERS / Paul JF Fleury
About the TEAM
Paul JF Fleury lives and works in Orléans and Paris, France.
As an artist-researcher with multiple projects, he has been experimenting for a decade in the broad spectrum of electronic music and performance.
Jeune Faune is the name he uses when it comes to producing bedroom pop songs. His music is released on La Ligne Bleue Records, a parisian based label which he co-created.
As a PhD student, he works on AI assisted creativity with an approach rooted in social sciences and musicology. The AI Song contest allows him to explore this field by putting his artistic skills to use.
About the SONG
As a producer and recording artist I wanted to collaborate with a developer to try and use AI tools for music production. I was part of a team with a very talented one who was looking for a producer but unfortunately I wasn’t able to use their tool on my computer. We worked hard on trying to make it work but two days before the deadline we decided to part ways, so I had to compose, record and produce this song really quick ! As a perfectionist who likes to take my time, it was quite challenging but also very exciting. Making this song for the contest was also a way for me to experience co-creativity as part of my research thesis, and I tried to involve AI in most of the aspects of the production.
About the HUMAN-AI PROCESS
I started by playing the theme on the piano with Ableton Live. I then used the PIA tool developed by Gaetan Hadjeres (Sony CSL) to find variations for it, and also Magenta. These two tools allowed me to find a modulation (0.43 min). Magenta also composed the piano melodies (2.08 min).
For the drums I tried Magenta's « drumify » tool but I wasn't satisfied with the output. These days I’m a little obsessed with the iconic Impeach The President drum pattern, so I wanted to use it. I sampled the pattern and then rewrote it in MIDI. I finally used Magenta's « Groove » tool on the MIDI clip, to make it swing more, because the groovier the better, right ?
Then I had to find lyrics. I used the Verse by Verse app, it's a poetry generation tool. You have to select 3 american poets who will help you write the poem, verse by verse. I selected Egard Allan Poe, Walt Whitman and Phillis Wheatly. I wrote the lyrics by mixing proposals from the three virtual poets, modifying them slightly to have a more contemporary langage.
The artificial voice (0.08min) is a model of my own voice generated by krach.ai. I made it recite parts of the poem generated by Verse by Verse. I tweaked the tool to make it sound like an robot-like gibberish. In the end, I used AI in almost every aspect of the composition, except for my singing voice.
Lyrics
(I’m not ready yet)
Hold my treasure x6
First is my boyhood, then in your night
Spring is in dream and day
Kept the singing for the sunset
black and yellow on the other side
Your angel smile I won’t forget
Brought on a throne with the world like rain!
Last day in a long transparent night
Hold me in a moment! in a light!
Hold my treasure x6
Elate the light of rosy day;
Speak to my voice the low morning time,
Spring is in dream and day
it shoots in the light, away
First is my boyhood, then in your night
Hold me in a moment! in a light!
Hold my treasure x6