Fred Again has shared his thoughts on the use of generative AI tools in music creation, joining the increasing numbers of well-known musicians and producers that have spoken out against the technology in recent months.
The British electronic artist and DJ shared a series of Instagram stories on 25 September containing notes he had made on the subject “close to a year ago”.
“I’ve been thinking for a while, the opposite of AI music maybe isn’t human music. It’s making music,” the story reads.
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“The process is the magic,” Fred continues. “Anyone who’s been lucky enough to make music, or make anything, has been able to feel this in different ways since forever.”
Fred says that he has felt “no pull whatsoever to even try” AI-powered musical tools: “I place so so so much of my identity in that process, and I haven’t found that to be a negative place to put it.”
“I have really no desire to do less of that bit. Because that bit is kind of where I find myself most clearly, and it’s also my meditation, daily compass. Giving the process bit to a machine would be intrinsically contrary to what I love about the whole thing.”
“The clumsy dedicated tumbling towards an idea is the thing we are most lucky to get to do,” he concludes. “The hours and hours and years and years of endlessly trying to make the thing you wish could exist. There’s lot [sic] of things I’m worried about AI threatening, but that will never be one.”
Fred Again’s comments arrive as growing numbers of artists are speaking out against the use of AI in the creative process. Earlier this month, guitarist Jason Isbell led a group of musicians in filing a class action lawsuit against AI music platform Suno, claiming that the company used their identities without permission to produce music that imitates their styles.
In May, Grammy-winning producer Jack Antonoff shared his thoughts on AI music, echoing Fred Again’s argument that the creative process isn’t something that needs to be optimized or replaced.
“The idea of optimizing what we do is a complete miss of the entire point of what compels us in the first place,” Antonoff wrote in an Instagram post.
“We (myself, the band and everyone I know frankly) have never been looking for this work to become quicker and easier. We were never frustrated by the randomness and magic it takes. We do it for that exact reason – and without the process itself… nothingness.”
“So to everyone who is gassed up about the new ways you can fake making art, by all means drive right off that cliff. We’re genuinely happy to see you go.”
Fred Again recently dropped Sexy Magic, a PinkPantheress collaboration that’s set to feature on the official soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto VI. Made up of 34 original tracks written for the long-awaited video game, the GTA VI compilation album also features music from Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Travis Scott and Rauw Alejandro.
