DataMind Audio let us know abo0ut Combobulator, a real-time generative AI instrument, powered by custom models called ‘Artist Brains’, created in collaboration with a wide range of ‘donor musicians’, who receive a 50% of the profits.
They say that the AI-based instrument “offers access to an artist’s sonic mind and musical style, while providing an ethical and sustainable way for artists and producers to experiment with and benefit from the massively augmented capacities of AI.”
‘We don’t always know where our ideas and creative drive come from. Similarly, when we map an artist’s artificial Brain, there is a mysterious realm called latent space inside it,” says DataMind Audio co-founder Ben Cantil. “The Combobulator, allows sound designers and music producers to explore this space in 64 dimensions, discovering newly generated, never-before-heard sounds. They can then manipulate them by means of an easy-to-use interface, to make entirely new, original music.”
Here’s the official into video:
“What is fascinating is that there is so much more to learn about the capabilities of neural networks,” says Dr. Martin Parker, Head of The Reid School of Music at The University of Edinburgh. ‘We are using our research to invent tools that serve artists first, and which build a creative community that is empowered financially and creatively by our application of AI. Datamind Audio is one of very few innovators out there who genuinely nurture artists and promote creativity using AI.”
“There is a lot of valid concern about the future of creatives in the AI era, but in the area of sound design and music production, we’ve created a solution by artists, for artists: They are paid for their original work, get to use new tools and instruments to create original music with new products,” says Catherine Stewart, Co-Founder and Managing Director at DataMind Audio. “Artists are approaching us to train and sell their Brains for them. We launched with a group of globally renowned artists who know and trust us, but now that the word is out, we’re expand our sound palette and Artist Brain marketplaces with some seriously big names.”
Pricing and Availability:
Combobulator is available with an intro price of $129 USD (normally $199). Additional ‘Brains’ are also available.
“Artists are approaching us to train and sell their Brains for them. There is a mysterious realm called latent space inside them. The Combobulator lets you play the Artist’s Brain like an instrument with this massively augmented capacities of AI. Isn ‘t that amazing. We’re expanding our Artist Brain marketplace with some seriously big names.”
When you train AI on synth marketing slogans, this is what you get
Who needs to train their own musical brain, when there’s an app for that?
Brains……
neural nets are cool. this application isn’t; most profit oriented artistry is merely product.
i’m up for more in life than a constant regurgitation of the past.
A synth only an MBA could love. Lots of talk and buzzwords, little music or even sound (and waht there is sounds…bad).
Its very early in AI’s march, so I won’t go all Luddite and decry it out of hand. I can already see a few loose ways that it could be applied as an assistant.
Then there’s the bitter reality of there being far more MBAs and programmers than inspired composers. Monetization will hand out numerous black eyes, as always. Skynet is just around the corner, growing teeth laser-cut to fit neatly over your entire ass.
As it stands, nothing can supplant me being in the zone and getting another fistful of good measures laid out. In time, it’ll become harder for many people to know AI from human, but at present, I still trust my ability to out-rock an algorithm. Its clear that AI devices will be folded into the system like USB was, so the next phase will be figuring out how to make things symbiotic. No, not that much. I don’t want a William Gibson jack in my neck. 😛
Extremely creative naming. Soundtoys has a Decapitator and you gotta Combobulator.
Obviously just a second generation Orgasmotron…..
I assumed it must be April 1
I don’t see anything about the software license on their web site. What’s the license? My own experience with messing about with anything substantive that actually makes use of neural nets is that unless you can afford fifty programmer-years of development to clean room an entire neural net training and generative ecosystem, you are going to have made considerable use of a ton of open source code to build your product.