After two decades working in the technology sector in the United States, Oudi Antebi returned to his home country of Israel to follow his passion: music production powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
Working alongside Antebi at Session 42 is Amit Shine, a long-time music executive, and producers Tal Forer, Yinon Yahel and Stav Beger. And they're doing more than just working. They're using AI for various applications, including a project that brings deceased musicians back into the music world.
See Next: This Startup Invented Programmable, Drinkable Plastic That Dissolves In Water In 60 Hours
Antebi Is Laser-Focused On Combining AI And Music
With the use of AI on the rise, it didn't take Antebi long to find a way to combine his passion for technology and music.
"I was reading about how AI is just changing everything, and I decided that I wanted to start a company with a focus on creating music, a company that blends technology and music together," he said in a recent interview with Variety. "I knew that I wanted to find the best technology and AI out there and use this technology and AI to unleash creativity."
And unleashing creativity is exactly what Antebi did this month when he released an AI song duet titled "Kan Le Olam."
For four weeks, the team at Session 42 trained an AI machine to mimic and reproduce the vocals of legendary Israeli musicians Zohar Argov and Ofra Haza.
"We had to train it," Antebi said. "There could be musical instruments in the background, and it had to be the highest sound quality possible for the extraction from an original recording of the artists. Then we used a second AI solution to remove any effects made on the original vocals. And then we used a third AI process to get the device to learn the vocals of Argov and Haza."
In other words, AI has its hands all over this viral hit.
To stay updated with top startup news & investments, sign up for Benzinga's Startup Investing & Equity Crowdfunding Newsletter
But Is It Ethical?
While there are many questions about the ethics and legalities of using AI to produce music, Antebi took the necessary precautions upfront to protect against common concerns.
"I knew we needed to start with the families of Zohar Argov and Ofra Haza because of ethical questions," said Antebi. "I said, let's let the families decide if this is what they want to do. So we went to them and told them we had a special song, about Israel's independence, and we want to use these two icons. We told them we would not release the song unless it does the artists justice. They could veto the song at the end if they didn't like it. And they agreed."
While alive, Argov and Haza never recorded music together. However, with the power of AI, Session 42 was able to combine their voices in a way that will live on forever.
See more on startup investing from Benzinga.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
