WATCH: Steve Hofmeyr releases duet with AI-generated female voice

Step into the future of music creation with the release of Rut by South African artist Steve Hofmeyr. The song, in which he sings with an AI-generated female voice, challenges the boundaries of traditional composition.

In this groundbreaking project, artificial intelligence takes center stage, showing its abilities to create a lifelike musical experience.    

As the music industry grapples with the implications of AI-generated content, Rut emerges as a captivating example of the creative possibilities that lie ahead.

“But don’t worry, humans still need to keep a close eye on it! I did, however, write the lyrics and, yes, I had to sing,” Hofmeyr elaborated.

“The song, Rut, in its entirety, is now available on YouTube, and later on other music platforms. The song, the video, and most of this press release were created by artificial intelligence, simply to demonstrate what can be done.”

Hofmeyr initially only shared a part of the song on Facebook on 27 March. He had fans guessing with his post reading: “I give you 24 hours to guess who’s (daughter) I sing with here”.

While some were convinced that she is the daughter of the Belgian singer Dana Winner, others guessed the singers Wynand and Chereé and Nianell.

The female singer of ‘Rut’ revealed

On 28 March Hofmeyr revealed that his duet partner was not human and shared the lyrics to Rut:

Ek wil gaan waar jy gaan
Ek sal by jou bly
Ek sal staan waar jy staan
my siel in joune stort
Ek wil in jou wêreld lewe
Ek wil oor jou waak
Ek wil sterf waar jy sterf
En daar begrawe word

Ek vra of jy iets hemels
in die uur vir my sal sê
dat jy my nie hier sal los nie
my vir altyd sal wil hê
want ek weet nou ek is niks nie
as ek sonder jou moet gaan
dis die heel beste bestemming
kom ek saam met jou daar aan

(Ek wil gaan waar jy gaan…)

Sy sê haar van is Bybels
Haar doopnaam is gebid
Haar pa noem haar Naomi
Maar vanaand is sy my Rut
want ek weet nou ek is niks nie
as ek sonder haar moet gaan
dis die heel beste bestemming
kom ek saam met haar daar aan

Hofmeyr concerned about the future of music and musicians

This past Thursday Hofmeyr released the final product, and wrote on Facebook: “On 10 March, I created a song with artificial intelligence by getting a voice to sing in a duet, in Afrikaans, with me. It worked, and I was able to partly share it on Facebook on 27 March.

“These digital applications have exploded and raised questions about the future of music and musicians. Too late. It’s already upon us. Music rights are now the dilemma, and my concern is for singers whose voices can now be replicated. But, as long as artificial intelligence serves you and you don’t serve it, these are exciting times for the creative individual – and now everyone gets a turn.

“What now? Well, I’m old-fashioned. Nothing stops me from later recording the song with real voices and real musicians. Give it a chance. Let me know with whom you think I should record it. For now, here is Rut, with me singing about the most beautiful declaration of love ever, ironically, from the Old Testament. I reconcile old gold from the past with futuristic uncertainties here. And it was really fun to do!”

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