Paul McCartney finishes final Beatles record thanks to AI Technology

Paul McCartney recently revealed the completion of a final Beatles record with the assistance of this cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology. In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today, McCartney shared that the unnamed track was constructed using a demo tape originally recorded by John Lennon.

He expressed his excitement, stating that the record would be released later this year. Elaborating on the process behind the final Beatles project, McCartney explained, “When we came to make what will be the last Beatles record, it was a demo that John had that we worked on,” he explained. “We were able to take John’s voice and get it pure through this AI so that we could mix the record as you would normally do — it gives you some sort of leeway.”

The team utilized AI to extract John’s voice from the demo tape, ensuring its authenticity. Then it mixed the track, as usual, providing them creative flexibility. McCartney acknowledged the duality of AI’s impact, recognizing its positive aspects while acknowledging the potential for unease. He expressed, “So there’s a good side to it and then a scary side, and we’ll just have to see where that leads.”The credit for introducing McCartney to the possibilities of AI in the studio goes to director Peter Jackson, renowned for his work on the band’s 2021 documentary, Get Back. McCartney commended Jackson for extracting John’s voice from a humble cassette intertwined with a piano melody. Through the power of AI, the two elements were successfully separated, enabling the isolation of John’s voice. McCartney remarked, “He could separate them with AI, they could tell the machine, ‘That’s a voice, this is a guitar, lose the guitar,’ and he did that. So it has great uses.”

This isn’t the first time posthumous collaborations have occurred within the Beatles’ discography. In 1994, McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison came together to work on two unfinished Lennon demos, resulting in the release of “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” on the Anthology 1 and Anthology 2 compilations in 1995 and 1996, respectively. With the completion of this latest Beatles record, music enthusiasts and fans eagerly anticipate the release, showcasing yet another innovative use of artificial intelligence that pushes the boundaries of what is possible in music production and preservation.

Image Credit: Eric Koch for Anefo | License: Creative Commons / Attribution-Share Alike 3.0