martin backes gets a fully automated computer to sing emotional 1990s ballads

martin backes gets a fully automated computer to sing emotional 1990s ballads
all images courtesy of martin backes

creative technologist and music guru martin backes constructed a fully automated machine which endlessly sings number one ballands from the 1990s. just when you thought your local karaoke bar couldn’t get any worse, this computer attempts to apply the appropriate human sentiments to emotionally loaded songs like, ‘i will always love you’ by whitney houston and ‘i believe i can fly’ by r. kelly. the project; ’what do machines sing of’ has hints of douglas adam’s depressed robot ‘marvin’ from ‘hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy’, and underlines the fact that great emotional filled songs not only depend on words, but also the voice that shines light on them. the installation by martin backes was created at the university of arts, art and media department in berlin.

video courtesy of martin backes