Release date: April 14, 2023

Genre: Electronic

From: UK

Label: 555-5555

Why you should listen: Because this is a groundbreaking album in the field of AI. London-based artist patten has been at the forefront of some of the most innovative electronic music over the last decade or so, and his interest in learning about how AI technology can impact music, makes his projects fascinating to explore. Mirage FM the first made entirely from text-to-audio AI-generated sound sources. Riffusion is the name of the program, and it uses AI to interpret and create soundscapes from text inputted by the user. Then, patten would take these sounds and collage and arrange them into short songs, jumping in between genres effortlessly. Upon listening for the first time I didn’t even know about the method to create the album, and it poses an interesting question about AI in music: Are we in danger of seeing AI replace musicians? Personally, I don’t think so, the soul of a human being will always be stronger and more impactful than any AI technology when translated into music in my opinion, but the distinction between the two could become increasingly difficult to make. patten is still the composer of this album, he’s the one who decided which sounds to go where, which rhythms and melodies belong where. He’s crate digging in latent space, and the results are pretty damn good. The melodic electronic “Forever” is incredibly catchy, with vocal samples and intertwining synths complementing the broken-beat groove of the track. The House rhythm of “Drivetime” is incredible, while the Grime-inspired “Walk With U” is pretty captivating as well. The smooth jazzy melody of “Fade” is really cool, while the R&B of “In Me” and “Where Does the Time Go?” are beautiful and melodic tracks. The dynamic groove of “Green & Pink” is phenomenal too. The vocal sample on “One” is phenomenal too, closing the album brilliantly. For an album that contains only AI-generated sounds, Mirage FM sounds incredibly produced and soulful. patten’s compositions are fantastic, his ability to create vast soundscapes is something really special, and I can’t wait to hear his new project, already accounced, and again AI-generated, Deep Blue, out in October.

The album: