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Artwork and AI

I want to be open about the part AI plays in my artwork. I come up with the ideas for all my single and album covers and direct their design; AI helps me create the finished images.

Music, samples and vocals

I love working with samples. The samples I use are licensed and cleared for my music.

I began with instrumental tracks, but often felt that a voice was missing. Later, I used ready-made vocal samples to bring vocals into my music. More recently, I’ve experimented with AI vocals. I write the lyrics and music, and AI sings the vocal parts.

Singing isn’t one of my skills. There are so many beautiful human voices out there, but finding singers who fit the different styles I make has proved difficult. AI lets me hear my own lyrics sung and helps the songs feel more complete.

If you’d like to collaborate on a song, I’d love to hear from you: richardvandenbergh76(at)gmail.com.

My setup

Some of you have asked what I use to make music. I have a Mac setup and a Windows setup in two different places. My MacBook Pro is a powerful machine, but I usually choose the Windows PC because the effects and plug-ins I use are more readily available there. I work mainly in Ableton Live 12 and sometimes with Akai MPC, which I’m still getting to grips with.

My hardware includes a few Akai Professional APC KEY 25 controllers, an Akai Force, an Arturia MicroFreak, a Roland Jupiter-XM, several Yamaha keyboards, a Fender Stratocaster HSS with plenty of pedals, and two steel-string acoustic guitars. I also use software synths, effects, filters and samples. I particularly like the AIR synths, and Underground and Splice have both been good value for samples. Microphones, cables, USB audio and MIDI gear, amps and mixers round out the setup.