Deeplocal: Google I/O The Flaming Lips
Deeplocal: Google I/O The Flaming Lips
Performing a one-of-a-kind song with the help of a bowl of fruit, AI, and the crowd
As headliners of the concert at Google I/O 2019, The Flaming Lips wanted to grow their reputation as one of the most innovative bands in music by incorporating AI into their performance.
Deeplocal and Google’s Magenta team introduced them to Piano Genie, a software developed by Magenta engineers that uses machine learning to compose music.
One of Deeplocal’s engineers put together a bowl of fruit that acted as buttons to trigger the MIDI interface of Piano Genie. The result was Fruit Genie: an AI-powered musical instrument which combines Magenta’s model with a physical interface of fruit. The Lips used Piano Genie to compose a new song for the I/O performance.
To get the audience involved, Deeplocal created giant inflatables filled with sensors that signalled the software when touched, adding notes to the song. And that’s how The Flaming Lips, a bowl of fruit, Google, and the audience at I/O played a song like no other.