Max Cavalera Torches A.I. ‘Music’: “It’s Not the Same… and It Never Will Be”
As our high-tech dystopia continues to grow with each passing day and artificial intelligence continues to worm its way into every facet of our lives, there seems to be a growing battle over whether that tech belongs in music. Some musicians think it’s inevitable while others like ex-Sepultura and current Soulfly frontman Max Cavalera think it’s worth fighting tooth and nail to keep it out of the creative process.
During a recent interview with the RRBG podcast, Cavalera took a shot at A.I. generated music, pointing out to the fact that it can only ever approximate the real thing. That without human interaction and soul, it’s just a bullshit carbon copy.
“You can’t really put people like me and Dino [Cazares] or me and Chino [Moreno], or me and Tom Araya, and you get a cool song out of it. A.I. can never do that. And they won’t be able to do it. They’ll do a false Xerox of it, but it’s not the same… I don’t give a shit what people say. It’s not the same, man, and it will never be.”
Without the human element, Cavalera argued that computer generated music can never replicate real artistic talent. And though he wasn’t willing to deny artificial intelligence as a powerful tool for humanity in other aspects of life, he made it sound like he hoped people would be able to learn a way to use such a powerful tool “the right way”.
“My hope is that we can coexist with this thing; that’s my wish. ‘Cause I think some of it can be good, if it’s done the right way. I think we’re gonna actually learn to coexist with this A.I. technology and see where it goes from there. But the soul of the person, yeah, that’s a unique thing. Your heart, your passion, that’s a human thing, man.”
If you’d like to see Cavalera and the rest of Soulfly play some non-A.I. generated tunes alongside their tourmates GWAR and King Parrot. The run of shows will start on March 19 in Richmond, Virginia and come to a close on April 29 in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can check out all of the dates below, so check ’em out and see which gig will be at a venue near you.
GWAR, Soulfly, and King Parrot Tour dates
3/19 Richmond VA The National
3/20 Reading PA Reverb
3/21 Albany NY Empire Live
3/22 Huntington NY The Paramount
3/24 Hartford CT The Webster
3/25 Wilmington DE The Queen
3/26 Sayreville NJ Starland Ballroom
3/27 Boston MA House Of Blues
3/28 Buffalo NY Town Ballroom
3/29 Columbus OH Newport Music Hall
3/31 Louisville KY Mercury Ballroom
4/1 St Louis MO The Pageant
4/2 Chicago IL Concord Music Hall
4/3 Fort Wayne IN Pieres
4/4 Saginaw MI The Vault
4/5 Green Bay WI Epic Events Center
4/7 Minneapolis MN First Avenue
4/8 Des Moines IA Val Air Ballroom
4/9 Tulsa OK Cains Ballroom
4/10 Lawrence KS The Granada
4/12 Grand Junction CO Mesa Theater
4/14 Portland OR Roseland Theater
4/15 Boise ID Treefort Music Hall
4/17 Sacramento CA Channel 24
4/18 Los Angeles CA The Belasco
4/19 San Diego CA House of Blues
4/20 Tucson AZ Rialto Theater
4/21 Albuquerque NM Sunshine Theater
4/23 Austin TX Emos
4/24 Houston TX Warehouse Live
4/25 Mobile AL Soul Kitchen Music Hall
4/27 Chattanooga TN The Signal
4/28 Asheville NC The Orange Peel
4/29 Charlotte NC The Fillmore
