In the aftermath of reviewing the new Racing Mount Pleasant album, I clicked the “chamber pop” tag on Bandcamp out of curiosity to see what else might have released recently in a similar vein. I browsed on my phone, so I only saw a handful of albums at once. But I was immediately struck by the art of one particular artist:

At first glance, it’s pretty standard cabaret-flavored pop. Male and female vocals trade off over strings, piano, and a steady drum pulse. The lyrics are cryptic and nostalgic. Nothing about this is too strange in itself.

But upon scrolling further down, I came across the following additional artists – sporting eerily similar art and the same city. On desktop, I can see the label association (which I discovered separately), but the artwork and other commonalities was a bit too obvious to me.

You’ll immediately notice the covers share a similar style and color schemes. Perhaps more obviously, the albums dropped around the same time as well. Each boasts a suspiciously-pretentious bio about the band’s origins. Contrast this to some more well-known chamber pop acts whose origins rest in being college roommates, loving literature, or playing Super Smash Bros on tour.

This immediately got me wondering: Is this AI? And if so, who exactly is behind it and why? At the time of writing, most of the albums above (along with several I’ll get to in a bit) have hardly any listeners. Why drop this many albums in an obscure genre at once when traditional pop or even country both have a wider fan base?

The answer wasn’t hard to find; Spotify lists credits on individual tracks, and pulling several up from a number of these albums provided one single name: Vladimir Terentiev. The copyright also lists the label, Caution! Neuromodern! Okay, but who is this guy and what is he doing?

Searches for this exact name weren’t too promising, but they did ultimately yield a profile for one Vladimir Terentyev, whose resume boasts being the founder of Caution! Neuromodern! and “pioneering an AI-generated music label that shapes the future soundscape.” It’s also clear he has experience in programming, includes game design and app development.

This confirms a few things – firstly, that the music is AI, and secondly, that this is a serious enough endeavor to list in Terentyev’s professional accomplishments. Most people keep their hobbies private; there seems to be some real ambition here. But what is it?

The label’s page features an extensive catalog of albums. But nearly all of them have been released within the past few months, and a majority boast cyberpunk themed art and some take on lounge and cabaret music, full of horns and strings and upright bass. But it’s hard to believe any of it is real.

Nearly a year ago, Terentyev invited the public to help alpha test an app he was using to procedurally generate music based off their phone cameras, location data, and surrounding conversations. It admittedly sounds like a wild privacy risk in many ways, but that’s not the point in bringing this up. The key detail is that Terentyev has peripheral business interest tied to AI music which falls into the timeframe of his work with this so-called label. I can imagine two possibilities, with the potential of both being true. The first is that these albums are a proof of concept for some AI tool – be it Terentyev’s Aqyn app or perhaps another endeavor entirely; maybe he hopes the sheer output is enough to convince investors of its worth. The second is more simple – the nature of the tracks, with their particular moods and themes (and the fact some “artists” are instrumental) makes them suitable for use within gaming contexts. Everything under the Caution! Neuromodern! umbrella is niche to some degree, but niches tend to have dedicated followings.

Of course, there are certainly ethical questions surrounding the situation. The band bios feel entirely generated, and that makes me wonder what, if any, human involvement takes place here. The scary thing is that a single album on its own doesn’t immediately feel like it was generated by synthetic means. AI lyrics tend to be dumber; the compositions aren’t this cinematic. I might not like everything Terentyev is doing, but I can genuinely say many of these songs sound good. But what then about the real – and complicated – relationships between the members of seven-person mini orchestras? What about the unique personalities of the members? What about the multi-album concepts seen by bands like Coyote Kid? Caution! Neuromodern! perhaps captures the sounds of these bands, but it hasn’t captured the visceral chaos of members switching instruments on stage in the middle of a nine-minute song.

What are your thoughts? Would video games be an acceptable use for AI music? Should we anticipate seeing more AI labels in the future?