Kanye West, or Ye, is known as a great musician, who has changed the game of the whole rap industry, and not even once.
He is a rapper. He is a fashion icon. He is a revolutioniser. He is bipolar.
Is he an inventor now?
In august Ye released “Donda” album and at the same time teased the prototype of Stem Player, which was made in partnership with Kano Computing and which promises the ability to “customize any song” and “manipulate music in real-time”.
Sounds rather dimly and abstract, but you should take a look at this video.
How does it work?
Basically you manipulate the “Stems” (different aspects of a track like the vocals or the drums) from songs off Ye’s album Donda. Or, thanks to machine learning, it can pull off the same trick with any* album you put on it. Tools include the ability to create loops, raise and lower pitch, and even combine stems from different songs.
*Almost any – review on Engadget says that it’s handled splitting other tracks it rather disappointing way:
“The Stem Player handled “DIRTY!” from JPEGMAFIA and “Stonefruit” by Armand Hammer reasonably well, though there was some slight bleed through of the synth line into the vocal stem on “Stonefruit.” Nine Inch Nail’s “Closer” fared a little worse. Half the bass line was on its own track, while the other half was lumped in with the drums. It even bled into the vocals…”
Also, we can’t skip the design part of the device:
Alex Klein, CEO of Kano, says that during creation process they asked themselves such questions as “How do we make technology that doesn’t feel like it’s from an evil alien world? How do we make technology that we just naturally feel that we can control?”, – then he adds – “Ye was always wise on this. He has a great line. He says, “Humans are God’s greatest technology.” So, when we humans make technology, it should feel more like an extension of our bodies. It should feel more natural and organic, but also decidedly human”.
At this point, I’m concerned that this gadget+concept has big potential. Firstly, because it may change the whole DJ’s game by giving them much more opportunities at mixing, sampling and etc.
Secondly because it gives us an opportunity to be the creator and consumer at the same time.
It’s like music Lego and who doesn’t like Lego?
sources:
https://www.complex.com/music/kanye-west-stem-player-alex-klein-interview/
https://www.engadget.com/donda-stem-player-kanye-west-kano-hands-on-150038410.html
I’m sure Kanye West didn’t actually have anything to do with the invention, most likely it’s a very costly advertising campaign. Still, the invention seems to be promising.