Prog rock virtuoso Steven Wilson, known for his introspective and complex compositions, surprises fans with a festive departure in the form of a Christmas song titled “December Skies.”
The song was composed after a friend challenged him to write a Christmas song, something Wilson readily admits “isn’t really me”.
Wilson undertook the challenge, enlisting the help of Chat GPT, an AI language model, to craft lyrics. Guided by Wilson’s artistic direction, the AI generated poignant and non-traditional Christmas-themed verses. Resulting in a unique experiment in creative collaboration.
Wilson, intrigued by the possibilities of AI in the creative process, expressed both skepticism and curiosity, stating, “I’m still not entirely sure what I think about AI, the knee-jerk reaction is to consider it a threat… but it’s clearly not going away, so this is my experiment to try embracing it.”
The accompanying video for “December Skies” was also generated using a purpose-built AI system by Miles Skarin. Incorporating imagery from Wilson’s past videos into innovative 2D and 3D backdrops. The song, played and recorded by Steven Wilson, features a guitar solo and backing vocals by Randy McStine.
To conclude, the artist remains contemplative about the outcome. Wondering how both fans and he himself will perceive this unexpected venture into the realm of festive music.
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An entity of flesh and bones in pursuit of becoming a higher being. A connoisseur of the mystic arts and everything musical. His origins are unknown, and so are his true motives.
