Renowned Indian singer and composer Shankar Mahadevan has embraced artificial intelligence in music creation by collaborating with Google to develop a new song using its generative music model, Lyria.
The Grammy-winning artist showcased the capabilities of the AI tool during a virtual appearance at Google’s annual I/O developer conference held on May 20 in Mountain View, California.
Google used the event to introduce its latest AI innovations, including tools designed for filmmaking and music generation. As part of the unveiling of Lyria 2, Google Research Scientist Jason Baldridge introduced a “music AI sandbox” created in collaboration with musicians.
“It is a tool for professionals to explore the possibilities of our generative music model Lyria, in their work. Let's watch a clip starring legendary Grammy-winning singer and composer Shankar Mahadevan putting the music AI sandbox and Lyria to use,” said Baldridge, reports Hindustan Times.
The featured video shows Shankar Mahadevan in his studio, where he shares his experience working with the AI tool. “I am a music composer, singer, producer and a happy man... Working with Sandbox is great. We inputted our requirements and it gave us a bed. We used that bed and we came up with this song,” he said.
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Titled ‘Rubaro’, the song was created using Lyria and developed in collaboration with Shankar’s team.
The video highlights their creative journey, including selecting beats and adjusting pitches, offering a glimpse into how AI can assist musicians in shaping their artistic vision.
Reflecting on the experience, Shankar added, “For a musician, it is such an inspiring tool. You open a door and you see there’s another room... And then you open another room, and you have another door... That is what AI does.”
Known for his versatility across Bollywood, classical, and devotional music, Shankar Mahadevan has lent his voice to hit tracks like Maa, Dil Chahta Hai, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Desi Girl, Kajra Re and Uff Teri Adaa.