Cellarhouse’s new album “Travelogue” marks the primary launch from a UK label to function an AI vocalist because the lead singer.
Writer: Jade McManus (Syndicate options) 21 February 2025
In a world saturated with the predictable, the place the traces between genres blur into an indistinguishable beige, True Blockhouse stands defiant. This isn’t simply one other report label; it’s a sonic laboratory, a proving floor for avant-garde digital music and orchestration that pushes boundaries with the gleeful abandon of a mad scientist. Based by Jezz Wright, a veteran of the influential East London Blockhouse Recording Studio and label of the 90s, True Blockhouse is quick incomes a fame as a disrupter, a champion of the unconventional, and a pioneer within the integration of know-how into the artistic course of.
Their on-line house, www.trueblockhouse.com, is a gateway right into a world of soundscapes each acquainted and alien, populated by artists like Rob Stroud, Killian Wright, and Cellarhouse. And it’s Cellarhouse, particularly their upcoming album “Travelogue,” scheduled for launch on February twenty third by way of Cygnus Music, that’s poised to ship shockwaves by way of the music business. Why? As a result of “Travelogue” marks the primary launch from a UK label to function an AI vocalist as an integral a part of the band’s lineup.
The preliminary response is predictable: AI taking up? Are all of us doomed? Is that this the top of music as we all know it? However True Blockhouse isn’t considering fuelling worry. They’re considering exploration, in experimentation, and in unlocking new artistic potential. To know their imaginative and prescient, we sat down with Jezz Wright, one of many architects of this audacious endeavor, to delve into the philosophy and the know-how behind this revolutionary strategy. Jezz is not any stranger to innovating within the music scene, he had earlier success within the 90’s with UK dance outfit Liquid, producing three of their prime 40 break-through hits amongst many different influential releases earlier than he give up the music business for a profession in media and tv. Now, (True) Blockhouse is again as an occasional passion-project he enjoys with mates and former studio purchasers.
[Jade McManus]: Jezz, thanks for taking the time. Let’s minimize to the chase: AI vocalist. The place did this concept even come from?
JW: (Laughs) “Necessity is the mom of invention, proper? Cellarhouse had been at a crossroads. They’d misplaced their vocalist to different commitments simply as they had been about to report new materials, which occurs. They’d tried the standard route, holding auditions, however nothing clicked. They had been on the lookout for one thing particular, a sure down-tempo, darkish electronica vibe that was laborious to search out. Then, virtually jokingly, somebody steered, ‘Why don’t we simply construct one?’”
Jokes apart, was it daunting to think about AI as an answer?
JW: “After all! Initially, it felt like an enormous leap. However I’ve all the time been fascinated by the intersection of know-how and music. I bear in mind the backlash towards analogue synthesizers and sequencers within the 80s, the worry that they’d exchange musicians. Then got here digital samplers within the 90s, and the identical anxieties resurfaced. However what occurred? They grew to become instruments, extensions of artistic expression. I noticed AI in the identical mild.”
So that you weren’t anxious about “changing” a human vocalist?
JW: “Completely not. It’s about augmentation, about increasing prospects. We weren’t on the lookout for a alternative; we had been on the lookout for a associate (for our different vocalist PJ), a device to assist her and Cellarhouse proceed their specific sound. And let’s be sincere, the logistics of managing a band may be powerful; schedules, egos, ‘artistic variations’. An AI doesn’t have any of these points. One much less downside!”
Stroll us by way of the method of coaching the AI. What had been the challenges?
JW: “It was a deep dive into the world of machine studying. Associates of ours constructed a customized mannequin, feeding it a large dataset of vocal performances from our library (together with the out-takes!), specializing in types much like what they had been aiming for. The largest problem was nuance. Getting the AI to grasp the emotional weight of the lyrics, the delicate inflections that convey which means, that took time. And due to our day jobs and different commitments – it’s a strictly out-of-hours labour-of-love – weekends, and a night or two. It took eternally! It wasn’t nearly hitting the correct notes; it was about accepting the lengthy highway forward.”
What platform did you utilize to create the AI software program?
JW: “I can’t go into all of the technical particulars, however It was primarily python primarily based with some libraries which are accessible on-line. The info coaching units had been that can be purchased, some had been scraped from our supporters and we had fairly a bit of labor to do. Put it this manner, we bought to know the parents inside FAL and GitHub fairly properly. It was a steep studying curve.
Pizza nights helped in the course of the lengthy weekends”
There’s clearly going to be skepticism. What do you say to those that really feel that utilizing AI devalues human artistry?
JW: “I perceive the priority. However music has all the time developed with know-how. The electrical guitar was thought of revolutionary, synthesizers virtually sacrilegious, after they first appeared. Now they’re each cornerstones of standard music. AI is solely the brand new leap ahead. It’s how you utilize it that issues and that there’s complete transparency. Within the palms of actually progressive artists like Cellarhouse, it may be a strong device for creating one thing new.”
So, what’s subsequent for True Blockhouse and AI integration?
JW: “We’re exploring all types of prospects. AI may very well be used to assist composition, association, mixing, mastering. The potential is limitless. We’re not aiming to switch human creativity; we’re making an attempt to reinforce it. We wish to give artists new instruments, new palettes to color with. And most significantly, we wish to proceed pushing the boundaries of what’s doable in digital music.”
However what does PJ, the opposite (backing) vocalist within the band, make of all of it? Is she not anxious AI will quickly put her out of a job?
PJ: ”Coaching AiLEEN” they known as it. It was extra akin to a modern-day Pygmalion making an attempt to coax life from a silicon statue”, PJ jokes as she sits down for the interview.
So PJ, it was your concept to coach the AI to sing?
PJ: “It wasn’t a lot ‘my concept’ because it was simply ‘the final concept anybody may consider’. We had some nice vocalists come to audition nevertheless it was such a slog making an attempt to get them to sing and carry out to what we had been after, which is fairly area of interest if I’m sincere. It was only a throw away remark that simply appeared to stay.”
The story is that if you first turned her on, AiLEEN invented her personal language?
PJ: (Bursts out laughing) “Oh, man, that was one thing else! Yeah, we fired her up for the primary time, gave her some lyrics to sing, and what got here out was… incomprehensible. It seemed like a mixture of Klingon, previous English, and dial-up modem noises. Completely nuts. It turned out the mannequin had, in its personal means, determined to ‘interpret’ the lyrics in a very summary means, I kinda guess utilizing it’s personal language. It was completely hilarious!”
So, did you retain any of that “language” on the album?
PJ: “Yeah, in fact! We stored a snippet of the unique AI gibberish on the primary monitor, “You’re Making No Sense.” It’s slightly Easter egg for the listeners, a reminder of the chaotic great thing about the early days of AiLEEN. It additionally sort of matches the music title, you understand?”
What did you assume if you first hear A.I.LEEN sing?
PJ: “I used to be blown away, clearly there was some heavy modifying to do firstly, however fairly quickly it was sounding wonderful. It’s laborious to get a correct tune from AiLeen until you’re actually, actually particular. However, the great factor is that after you have it, it can save you it and repeat it time and again. After the primary monitor – the vocal performances are gorgeous! I used to be going sing lead on tracks 3 and 4 however ended up insisting AiLeen sang lead and I’d simply care for the harmonies“
Is there something you’ll miss about working with a human vocalist?
PJ: “That’s a tricky one. After all I’ll miss the interplay between myself and our earlier vocalist, however the prospects are countless. We will begin writing concerning the ‘summary’, discover ‘her’ AI thoughts, her personal logic and reasoning – dare I say, ‘her’ personal perspective on ‘life’ as AGI turns into an actual factor. For the time being AiLeen sings what she’s advised, its not like she’s going to start out writing her personal lyrics. She has no ‘character’ of life expertise.… But”
Any last ideas?
PJ: “Simply that AiLeen has actually opened our eyes as to how Ai can really be built-in right into a band set-up. There’s going be those that use this tech for fooling individuals and that’s an actual problem. Hopefully our transparency begins an sincere debate in how this new artistic device can be utilized and managed.”
Whereas the combination of AI is undoubtedly the headline grabber, it’s essential to keep in mind that True Blockhouse is greater than only a tech experiment. It’s a thriving ecosystem of artists pushing the boundaries of digital music. Take Killian Wright (www.killianwright.com), for instance. His work blends intricate sound design and classical orchestration with haunting melodies, creating soundscapes which are each lovely and unsettling. He’s additionally not letting the grass develop beneath his toes both, while nonetheless an undergraduate at Royal Holloway (London) he’s set-up his personal manufacturing firm with different graduates (www.magicstereo.com) for commissioning work in movie & tv. Or Rob Stroud (https://robstroud.bandcamp.com/), whose evocative compositions discover themes of isolation and introspection after which there’s PressureM, who’s at present writing new materials for The City Mods
Nonetheless it’s Stroud’s newest album, “Unlocked,” that’s a testomony to True Blockhouse’s dedication to sonic range. It’s a set of atmospheric and industrial items that weave collectively ambient textures, glitchy rhythms, and haunting melodies. Stroud’s mastery of sound design is clear in each monitor, making a listening expertise that’s each immersive, emotionally resonant and actually challenges the norm.
What concerning the albums?
Rob Stroud – Unlocked:
“Unlocked” is a masterclass in ambient and industrial electronica. Stroud creates huge sonic landscapes and loops that envelop the listener, drawing them right into a dystopian world of haunting angst. The textures are wealthy and complicated, the rhythms delicate but insistent. It’s an album that rewards repeated listening, revealing new layers of depth with every cross. Vital for followers of Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, Goth-punk and Boards of Canada. Darkish and difficult. [Rating: 8/10]
Cellarhouse – Travelogue:
“Travelogue” is a daring and bold album that defies straightforward categorization. The AI vocals of AiLEEN are seamlessly built-in into Cellarhouse’s signature down-tempo, darkish electronica fashion, including a layer of intrigue and emotional depth. The album explores themes of escape, voyage, identification, and the human situation, all filtered by way of the lens of synthetic intelligence. Contemplating the vocalist is a digital artifact, the songs have an actual emotional pull – which I assume is all the way down to some good quaint human music writing.
Area of interest however lovely. [Rating: 9/10]
True Blockhouse isn’t just a report label; it’s an announcement. It’s a declaration that the way forward for music lies in experimentation, in collaboration, and in embracing the chances provided by know-how. Whereas some could worry the rise of AI in music, True Blockhouse sees it as a possibility to unlock new artistic potential, to push boundaries, and to redefine what music may be. And with artists like Rob Stroud and Cellarhouse main the cost, the way forward for avant-garde digital music seems brighter than ever. So, embrace the evolution, and put together to have your ears, and your thoughts, blown. You may try True Blockhouse and listen to the long run your self at www.trueblockhouse.com and comply with their journey on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/ trueblockhouse. It’s a sonic journey you received’t wish to miss.
True Blockhouse is a not-for-profit label, don’t settle for or search any unsolicited materials, and are refreshingly garbage at social media promotion: “in the event you discover us, you then’ve found some hidden gems!”
Cellarhouse’s new album Travelogue is out twenty third February in all the same old on-line shops with a restricted vinyl launch within the U.S (PolyphoniC)
www.cellarhouse.co.uk | www.trueblockhouse.com | www.killianwright.com | www.magicstereo.com
