Grateful Dead‘s Jerry Garcia’s voice has been recreated with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for books, articles, PDFs and more.
The late icon’s estate has partnered with ElevenLabs – an AI voice company and an app – to recreate Garcia’s voice and read out audiobooks, e-books, articles, poetry, fan stories, PDFs and more in 32 different languages.
The former Grateful Dead guitarist, singer and songwriter is not the first artist to have their voice recreated by ElevenLabs. Garcia joins the likes of Judy Garland, James Dean, Burt Reynolds and Sir Laurence Olivier who have all had their voices transfigured on the app.
Speaking to Billboard, a company spokesperson said ElevenLabs worked “in close collaboration with the Jerry Garcia Estate to ensure that the reproduction of Garcia’s voice was as authentic and true to his legacy as possible.”
Jerry Garcia of the group Grateful Dead, plays an electric guitar as he performs onstage at Nassau Coliseum (later Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum), Uniondale, New York, November 1, 1979. CREDIT: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
Dustin Blank, Head of Partnerships at ElevenLabs, added: “At ElevenLabs, we’re committed to preserving and celebrating cultural legacies while pushing the boundaries of technology. 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.”
Garcia’s voice will also be used on future projects in association with the Jerry Garcia Foundation. “My father was a pioneering artist, who embraced innovative audio and visual technologies,” Garcia’s daughter Keelin said (via Stereogum).
She continued: “In the 1990’s, my dad introduced me to the computer, digital art, and video games. When we travelled on concert tour, 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.”
In other news, Phish recently paid tribute to the late Phil Lesh during the opening night of their tour last month.
Lesh, the co-founder and bassist of Grateful Dead, died back in October at the age of 84. A statement shared on social media on October 25 said that he “passed peacefully” and was “surrounded by his family and full of love”.
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