Who are you at Neutone?

Hello! I’m Keisuke Nohara, working as an intern at Neutone from December in 2023. I’ve been researching musical AI to collaborate with human performers. As a programmer and drummer, I love creating tools for making music in unusual ways, including kinetic machines and generative AI.

What you work on

I’m working on training Morpho models and collecting unique datasets to make the plugin a more creative tool. I also play sounds with each model to test its potential for the music-making process.

Why are you doing this?

I’ve been playing drums for over 10 years, and began making electro and experimental music with Max/MSP at university. I joined the Computational Creativity Lab founded by Nao Tokui, and started my research on creative AI for music. Since then, I’ve been fascinated by the unique musical experiences that can only come from interaction with AI. My aim is to make the AI tool our new partner to explore unexpected expressions.

What do you hope Neutone Morpho offers artists/musicians?

Neutone Morpho brings new inspiration to all creators, as it can generate surprising sound textures that we have never heard before. Its ability to dynamically convert sounds in real-time could lead to new expressions, from practical sound design to live performance. By using Morpho, I hope musicians will find novel phrases and ideas by morphing the sound, and create a new music genre in the future.

What’s next!?

Morpho will provide a variety of models, including traditional instruments, experimental synthetic sounds and field recordings. You could find the best partner for your creation from them, and also train your own dataset with Neutone Cocoon.

What are you listening to these days? 🎧

I’m a fan of experimental electronic sounds, like Aphex Twin, Autechre, Oval, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Ryoji Ikeda. As a drummer, I also enjoy rock, jazz and sometimes hip-hop. While working, I always listen to ambient tracks with warm and cosy textures. In recent days, the best album I found is the soundtrack of “Poor Things” by Jerskin Fendrix.