Nous sommes Whim Therapy
LISTEN AND EVALUATE Let it go
The lines are now closed. You can no longer vote. Watch the Award Ceremony on July 6 to find out which song wins the AI Song Contest 2021!
LYRICS AND MORE ABOUT THIS ENTRY BELOW
ABOUT THE TEAM
Nous sommes Whim Therapy is a team composed of the artist Whim Therapy and several researchers from Sony CSL.
Whim Therapy is the solo project of Jeremy Bénichou, who is part of the successful French band Diva Faune. This project is an opportunity for Jeremy to explore new avenues, without caring too much about commercial success.
Sony CSL (Computer Science Laboratories) is a fundamental research laboratory based in Tokyo and Paris. In Paris, the “Music and Artificial Intelligence” team develops a new generation of music production tools based on Artificial Intelligence. When Whim Therapy heard about Sony CSL on Instagram, they connected and decided to enroll in this contest to seal the collaboration.
ABOUT THE SONG
This song is a soulful homage to old-school music, fulfilled with postmodern elements. The lyrics are all about addictions, expressed through love imagery. This song was conceived as a genuine collaboration between humans and machines. During early stages, we have paid attention to leave some room for the AI to play its part. It has done so wonderfully, leaving us with a song where analog and digital elements are blended to create a unique vibe.
ABOUT THE HUMAN-AI CO-CREATION PROCESS
We started the composition process the classic way: First, we chose a chord progression, a vibe, and a tempo. A first studio session allowed us to record guitar, piano, Rhodes, and toplines. Then we wrote the first three sentences of the song. Up to this point, AI was not involved. This first phase allowed us to create content that would be used as input to our various conditional models later on. We also wanted the foundation of this track to be as “empty” as possible to leave some room for the AI to feature in.
In a second phase, we started to involve the AI tools. We used BassNet to create a bassline that would fit the pre-existing content recorded during the first phase. We used DrumGAN to create the drum sounds. DrumNet helped in writing hi-hat and kick patterns. NOTONO was used to create the different synth sounds. Once we got all these, some heavy editing and processing was done to keep only the best elements.
The third phase consisted of a second studio session, where we re-wrote the toplines according to the new arrangement. We also used Poiesis to write the definitive lyrics, recorded final vocals, and run the stems through tapes to get this unique old-school flavor. Finally, heavy processing was added to the vocals, and voilà.
LYRICS
Yeah I know we’re down the line
Still I keep on wasting time
No I can’t get enough
It’s like the walls are coming down
Now the silence is getting loud
I need more time
Got the stars upon my back
Still we lose our souls on black
No I can't get enough
Can't we fear the pricely wine
As the moon comes and we shine
We need more time
And I just want you to know,
I'm here
You're always too high
I'm here
We're always high
Always gone
Guess we've got to let it go x4
Why don’t we stay for a minute?
Wait right now hold for a minute
We were free
We felt like we could beat it
When we saw you breathe a bullet
Sometimes I fall sometimes we fly
And the silence is getting loud
I know it's time
And I just want you to know, I'm here
You're always too high
I'm here
We're always high
Always gone
Guess we've got to let it go x4