AI technology has once again pushed the boundaries of creativity, this time in the realm of music. In a groundbreaking announcement, Paul McCartney revealed that a new Beatles song is set to be released this year, more than 50 years after the iconic band's break and four decades following the tragic passing of John Lennon.

What makes this revelation all the more extraordinary is that the song was completed with the help of artificial intelligence.

During a recent interview with BBC radio, McCartney shared the fascinating details of this musical endeavor. The inspiration for finishing the song came after McCartney and others involved in the project watched the 2021 Beatles documentary, Get Back, directed by Peter Jackson.

In the documentary, Jackson successfully separated John Lennon's voice from a low-quality cassette recording using AI technology, leaving McCartney astounded by the possibilities.

He recounted how the original demo of the song came from Lennon himself. With the help of AI, they were able to extract Lennon's pure voice from the demo, allowing them to mix the record as they would typically do.

"When we came to make what will be the last Beatles record, it was a demo that John had," McCartney said. “We were able to take John’s voice and get it pure through this AI. Then we can mix the record, as you would normally do.”

"We had John’s voice and a piano and he could separate them with AI. They tell the machine, 'That’s the voice. This is a guitar. Lose the guitar,'" he added.

Although the exact identity of the upcoming release remains somewhat shrouded in mystery, the BBC speculates that it could be a piece from Lennon's 1978 collection titled "Now And Then." This forthcoming release will mark the first "new" Beatles project since the Anthology albums, which featured the posthumously completed songs "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love."

This particular song had already been under consideration as a potential "reunion song" for the Beatles in 1995 during the compilation of their comprehensive Anthology series.

Approximately a year prior, Sir Paul had received the demo tape from Yoko Ono, the late John Lennon's widow. The cassette contained a collection of songs labeled "For Paul," which Lennon had recorded shortly before his untimely passing in 1980.

These tracks, characterised by their lo-fi quality and their embryonic state, were primarily captured on a boombox while Lennon sat at a piano in his New York apartment.

Regarding the use of AI in the music industry, McCartney expressed a mixture of excitement and trepidation. He acknowledged the potential of this technology to shape the future of music production while recognising the need to navigate its uncharted territory.

"It's kind of scary and exciting," he commented, "but it's the future. We'll just have to see where that leads."

First Published:Jun 13, 2023 8:18 PM IST