In the ongoing debate about the use of AI in music, Empire Of The Sun’s Luke Steele has come out in favour of the new technology, though with an element of reluctance.
The Australian musician was speaking on iHeartRadio Canada and said that “of course” he uses AI. “I love the battle now. It’s quite exciting – the humans versus AI. But you know it’s just another tool. It’s like a really smart guitar pedal.”
He continued: “I think you’ve got to be careful because it’s so powerful, because the AI is going to empower artists that know how to use it and they’re going to become unstoppable.
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“The artists that are against it, you’ve got to be careful because it’s going to come and swallow you like the boogie monster at night,” he said before shrugging off the immense environmental impact of its use.
However, one artist who uses it openly is looking very far from ‘unstoppable’. Boy George has found himself in all sorts of trouble in the last few days, over his openly pro-Israel AI-assisted track We Will Dance Again.
The backlash was swift to the song, which appears to deny the genocide (a term both the UN and Amnesty have used) in Gaza and, with lines like ‘You condemn the Jews, with selective memory/ Musicians holding flags, mouthing like sheep/ Propaganda fuelled by the Internet feels so weak’, seems to criticise pro-Palestinian musicians.
Last Thursday George quit a two-week West End role playing King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar at the London Palladium. Then he parted company with his label manager, Tony Pontius, who has allegedly told him he wanted “nothing to do with” We Will Dance Again.
Now the Culture Club singer has run into problems with Bandcamp. He uploaded the track to the platform over the weekend. However, Bandcamp has removed it and deactivated his account.
The platform has yet to issue a statement about the song. However, it’s more likely that their beef with it is the fact it has been created using AI – earlier this year Bandcamp put in place a ban on tracks used that ‘wholly’ or ‘in substantial part’ generated by AI – rather than the song’s political content.
Not surprisingly, George isn’t very impressed. He’s uploaded a clip on Instagram titled: “Bandcamp. What a bunch of c***s!”
“The drama continues,” he explained. “Sadly Bandcamp have removed my profile, so anyone trying to get a copy of We Will Dance Again will have to wait until I record it and find a way to put it out.”
