In today's sign of the ongoing apocalypse, artificial Intelligence pioneer ElevenLabs have hooked up with the estate of Jerry Garcia to recreate the late Grateful Dead frontman's voice.
This breakthrough means that Deadheads can use the company's platform to listen to Garcia’s voice reading out audiobooks, articles, poetry, bedtime stories, recipes and more in 32 different languages. We tested the software by asking "Jerry" to read a favourable review of an album by The Doors – a band he reportedly detested – and are happy to report that he did a reasonable job, albeit with some unusually positioned pauses.
"My father was a pioneering artist, who embraced innovative audio and visual technologies,” says Keelin Garcia, daughter of Jerry and co-founder and VP of the Jerry Garcia Foundation. "In the 1990s, my dad introduced me to the computer, digital art, and video games. When we travelled on concert tours, we played on Game Boy.
"At home, we’d have fun playing on the Macintosh in the studio where my father created his first digital art, and housed his MIDI guitar. Now, as technological landscapes continue to expand, ElevenLabs AI Audio technology will offer fans the first opportunity to hear and stream a replica of my father’s voice reading their favourite books and other written content."
"At ElevenLabs, we’re committed to preserving and celebrating cultural legacies while pushing the boundaries of technology,” says Dustin Blank, Head of Partnerships at the company. "By bringing voices like Jerry Garcia to our platform, we’re not just enhancing our app – we’re creating new ways for people to experience content.
"This project has been a labour of love, and we couldn’t be happier with how Jerry’s voice has been recreated. It’s a beautiful thing to bring his sound to life again for both longtime fans and a new generation of listeners.”
Other voices available in ElevenLabs' 'Iconic Voices' range include Dr. Maya Angelou, Burt Reynolds, John Wayne, Burt Reynolds, James Dean and Judy Garland. We are sorry to report that, as yet, there's no Brian Blessed.
