Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and the U.K. electronic group The Orb have launched a new AI-driven creative project allowing fans to remix tracks and reimagine the cover art of their recently released Metallic Spheres in Colour collaborative album. Fans can take part in the project by visiting MetallicSpheres.io.
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At the website, they will be given a series of prompts asking them what emotion they’d like the album art to express, as well as the mood and tempo they’d want the remixed tracks to feature.
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Using an artificial intelligence program designed for the project, reimagined cover art will be generated based on how users describe their emotions while listening to sections of the Metallic Spheres in Colour album. The audio remixes can be created by the listeners choosing a desired mood—spanning from chill to high energy—as well as a tempo for the track.
The fan-created artwork and remixes can be shared via the users’ social media pages, and the remixes will be made available for purchase as digital downloads in the coming weeks. In addition, some of the new versions of the cover art, which originally was designed by Simon Ghahary, may be selected for use in a forthcoming music video promoting Metallic Spheres in Colour.
Metallic Spheres in Colour is a reinterpretation of Gilmour and The Orb’s 2010 album, Metallic Spheres, which features two long ambient tracks used as their basis for a 2009 cover of Graham Nash’s 1971 song “Chicago.” The protest anthem featured Gilmour and was recorded as a benefit single for British computer hacker Gary McKinnon, who was facing extradition to the U.S.
Metallic Spheres came about when The Orb and producer Youth were asked to remix the cover of “Chicago.” The Orb and Youth wound up creating two long ambient suites out of the recording and then asked Gilmour to return to the studio to add additional guitar parts to complete the tracks.
For Metallic Spheres in Colour, original Orb member and mastermind Alex Paterson teamed up with current Orb member Michael Rendall and Youth to remix and reimagine the 2010 album.
