Machine Inspired Voice 00.1 by Reeps One

Artists working with generative tools have different ways of thinking about their tools. For some, it’s just that: tools. For others, it’s more akin to collaborating with a partner. Across much of his work at the cutting-edge of voice and technology, Harry Yeff frames a connected system of AI tools collectively as a sparring partner or workout buddy, a sort of composite machine rival through which to refine his (human) voice’s range and capability. In so doing, the artist uses AI to question the limit of his own voice, an opponent like duet and mentorship that pushes to new-voice and expression. Already among the best beatboxers in the world, Yeff’s lines of pursuit training with machines have pushed his capabilities into realms that truly begin to sound un-, non-, or posthuman. Machine Inspired Voice is an ongoing research exploring multiple AI driven processes to develop new articulations, phraseologies, and compositions in human voice expression. In “Machine Inspired Voice 00.1,” Yeff first interacts in real time with a synthetic vocalist using his own voice. Yeff’s ability to develop complex machine-like vocal phrases is then “listened to” by the system and a reply is generated. This artwork offers a glimpse in process, and functions as a pre-release artist proof for a forthcoming series of over 300 AI and human vocal phraseologies. The work is also presented as a spectrogram, which further reveals the range of audio frequencies visually.