City Pop by Tadashi Goto – Funktasy Records’ AI Debut Album

For decades, musicians have been wondering whether some day they will be fully replaced by computers. Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has delivered an official answer: “Yes, I can.” 

AI is currently the most talked about topic in the world and it’s bound to cause a stir for many years to come. It entered the modern era as nothing more than a clumsy chatbot making tons of mistakes and now it’s surpassed the capabilities of most humans’ creative minds. As a powerful genius engine, AI is nowadays capable of delivering unimaginable media in various formats and even generating radio-ready pop hits within minutes. 

From fully AI-composed songs to cutting-edge AI-assisted music production plugins, we’re witnessing technological advancements that are redefining creativity, revisiting the role of the artist, and pushing the boundaries of what once seemed impossible. This has also created a gap amongst the morals of both creators and consumers.

However, with these major shifts comes both excitement and controversy.

Funktasy’s Leap Into the Future – ‘City Pop’ by Tadashi Goto

As a front-running modern entertainment entity, Funktasy is a firm believer of using technology to push the boundaries of creation. Hence, Funktasy Records announces a groundbreaking, bold move; the release of its first AI album, City Pop by Japanese artist Tadashi Goto. The project is more than just an experiment, it’s a statement, a way of joining the global conversation around AI’s role in the future of music.

“Honestly, my process hasn’t really changed at all. Computer Music has always been the backbone of what I do, and that’s still the case,” explains Tadashi when asked if anything had changed in his creative process while working with AI. “The big shift this time wasn’t AI, it was that I finally put vocals on top of my tracks. Up until now, I was only writing instrumentals.” 

After initially working with singers from all over the world on his early projects, the Japanese musician made the decision to delve into the experimentation of AI-generated vocals for City Pop. 

“I laid down some rough demo takes, and then ran them through AI to turn them into male and female voices. And honestly, the results blew me away,” continues Tadashi. “So with City Pop, I figured, why not just push that idea all the way and make a whole album with AI vocals?”

The twist of the story is simply that lack of budget was the main reason that sparked the idea to use AI-generated vocals for the creation of City Pop.

“When I made Echoes with Musea Records, I brought in singers from all over the world. But when the budget started running low, I thought, ‘Okay, let’s see what AI can do’,” says Tadashi.

The result is an album that actually feels more authentic than anyone could have ever imagined. With lush synths, driving basslines, and shimmering melodies, City Pop is a fascinating dialogue between past and future, human and machine. 

The Vision Behind City Pop – Evolution of Technology and Debate

Funktasy’s intent is not that of replacing human power with the cost-efficient convenience of AI, rather that of embracing the new wave of technology and sonic experimentation.

“As a musician, I’ve always preferred music that feels natural and resonates with the heart and soul. At the same time, as the founder of Funktasy, I believe it’s important for us to embrace the wave of technology,” explains Funktasy’s boss and founder Hoss. “AI in music is still a new concept, and we want to be among the pioneers experimenting with its possibilities and seeing what lies beyond the horizon.” 

The collaboration with Tadashi also feels symbolic.

“Tadashi is from Japan, a country that has long been at the forefront of technology and has made incredible contributions to the evolution of music-making,” Hoss continues. “It feels only fitting for Funktasy to collaborate with a Japanese artist on this project and present it to the world as a step forward in blending artistry with innovation.” 

Tadashi himself echoes that balance of tradition and innovation:

“I see AI as a tool, not a replacement. The details, the editing, the ‘Tadashi Goto sound’—that’s still me. The emotion, the story, the reason behind the music—that’s always gonna come from the artist. That’s the line that won’t move.”

AI’s Impact on the Music Industry – Advantages and Controversies

With early algorithmic composition experiments already taking place in the mid-20th-century, the use of AI in music isn’t a concept relatively new. Composers like Lejaren Hillaren and Leonard Isaacson used the very first computers to generate melodies and patterns, resulting in the ‘Illiac Suite’, a computer-generated string quartet, and the first intuition that algorithms could help humans in music making. 

Today, this early concept has reached new heights thanks to the sophisticated technological evolution of the past few years. Many artists are embracing the use of AI for several steps of the creative process, from getting inspiration and generating ideas to sound design and mastering. Others are more concerned with the negative upheavals this revolution could bring, fearing that this process will threaten originality and artistic livelihood.

Easier workflow, faster production, cost efficiency, and endless source of music material as inspiration are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the advantages that AI puts on the table. At the same time, major controversies have already arisen, especially relating to the risk of oversaturation and homogeneity of the market. Other thorny questions concern copyright, authorship, and fair compensation. Who owns the right of an AI-generated song? Is it fair that algorithmic models trained with vast catalogs of human-made music output tracks without giving remuneration to the artists they’re mimicking? Can these AI tools really replicate the emotional depth of human composers?

Many of these questions still remain unanswered…  

Where Do We Go From Here?

The AI phenomenon is an avalanche, we’re guaranteed it won’t be stopped whether we like it or not. The industry experimentation with it seems then the only possibility available if artists don’t wish to fall behind competition.

Some outcomes might be controversial, others inspiring. However, it’s likely that humans will remain the core part of this creative process. City Pop represents Funktasy’s venture into unknown territory, a dauntless demonstration that innovation isn’t something to fear, rather to explore.