It’s always interesting when a bunch of musicians get together to collaborate on an album. You get a change away from many of their normal styles and get to experience something different. That's very much the case with a new release out this week with over 1,000 musicians involved.
With so many musicians taking part you might be worried about a cacophony of sounds and an overindulgence of talent. Fear not! This new release out this week is all about the statement it makes, not the sounds on it.
The album, Is This What We Want, is credited to 1000 Artists UK and forms part of an ongoing protest about changes to UK copyright law. The UK government is planning to relax restrictions for AI developers allowing them to use creators' content on the internet to help develop their AI models.
AI is a big concern for many artists and they see this change as part of an ongoing threat to their creative livelihood and rights. Artists would have the right to opt out at each individual source but claim it’s an impractical control.
Does the new "silent" album hit the right notes?
Let's get back to the album, released on Tuesday, February 25 it’s a 12-track long release. Each song name spells out a word in a protest message. The 12 words as song titles equal The British Government Must Not Legalise Music Theft To Benefit Companies. And it is a silent record.
Well, when I say silent I mean almost. The tracks were recorded in empty studios and performance spaces. There are some occasional noises of someone moving, or perhaps an ambient hum from an amp for example. But on the whole and in terms of there being no music, it’s silent.
You can see exactly which artists are involved at www.isthiswhatwewant.com but as a taster for who you can't hear, it includes the Pet Shop Boys, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, and many more. Although you can't hear them they are all strongly behind the protest and keen to make their point. As an aside, I didn't see the Gallagher brothers from Oasis listed, but the likely arguing might have been too much!
As the AI protests grow we’ve already seen the news this week of Sir Paul McCartney, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, and Sting all joining with other artists to sign a letter published in The Times opposing the change. There is a space for AI in music reactions, Sir Paul’s ventures with The Beatles on “Now And Then” included the use of AI to bring the sound of the Fab Four back together again. They picked up a Grammy Award as a result. But there is a time and a place and a way for it to be used.
Oh, and what about the album itself? Well, it is available to stream, and it is quite a unique sound. I dipped into some tracks but will be honest and say I didn’t hear all of them, or much at all from those I did listen to. As the title says it misses a few critical notes but makes a solid statement all the same. The artists may not have added their actual voices loudly but they are still speaking out.