Share

Supercomputer helps create Apple iTunes hit

Johannesburg - Grammy-winning music producer Alex Da Kid has collaborated with IBM's supercomputer Watson for a four-track EP of “cognitive songs”.

In 48 hours, the first song - dubbed 'Not Easy' featuring  featuring Grammy-winner Elle King, Sam Harris from X Ambassadors and Wiz Khalifa - climbed to number 4 on iTunes "Hot Tracks" and number 6 on iTunes "Alternative" charts.

The IBM Watson supercomputer uses artificial intelligence to create songs with artists. The computer only needs a few chords of music and a mood to generate an entire instrumental. 

Watson analysed five years of cultural data to understand the “emotional temperature” of each year regarding music. 

READ: SA duo to break ground in co-production with supercomputer

The system looked at things like New York Times articles, movie scripts, song lyrics – plus the related social commentary – on Twitter and in blogs. 

Then Watson BEAT technology analysed the musical construction of top Billboard songs to understand, compositionally, the musical trends of the last five years. This allowed Alex Da Kid to experiment and create new sounds tailored to a specific emotion. 

And the song Alex Da Kid produced with this inspiration ended up being about a heartbreak. 

Alex Da Kid was able to create music tailored to the specific emotions caused by heartbreak, using technology.

Most recently, a Cape Town electronica outfit, Original Swimming Party (OSP), produced a song in collaboration with the supercomputer.

The audio-visual band, who define their music style as a mash-up of Western electronic with African influences from genres such as kwaito and house, sent through chords of an original song with a "mood", and the supercomputer then used the same notes to create an entirely new piece according to the mood.

“It has been a very interesting process and scarily similar to working with live artists,” OSP member Tom Glendinning said.

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter:

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.89
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.87
+0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.38
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.32
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent-ruolie
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders