Developer conferences aren’t exactly known for having an energetic, party-like atmosphere, but thankfully, that didn’t stop Google’s latest hype man. The company’s I/O event this year was kicked off by Marc Rebillet — an artist known in online spaces for pairing improvised electronic tracks with amusing (and typically loud) vocals. He also wears a lot of robes.
“If you have no idea who I am, I would expect that,” said Rebillet. He introduced himself as an improvisational musician who “makes stuff up.”
That made him a good fit to demo the DJ mode that Google recently added to its generative AI text-to-music tool, MusicFX. Back in February, Google DeepMind’s Adam Roberts described the feature as an “infinite AI jam that you control.”
Rebillet’s onstage demonstration was an entertaining showcase of its capabilities. He typed in simple prompts like viola, 808 hip-hop beat, and chiptunes, with the AI music tool then generating a synced-up track that incorporated all of these styles. With audience direction, Rebillet then fed the AI prompts for a track containing Persian tar, djembe, and flamenco guitar and somehow made a pretty compelling tune, overlaying improvised vocals that joked 9:30AM was “too early” to be hosting such an event.
Users are presented with a mixer-style interface that spits out music based on text prompts, layering them together and syncing the resulting track. The music can be changed in real time by adding additional prompts to the mix. You can try it out yourself now over on Google’s AI Test Kitchen. MusicFX is still in development after being introduced last year.
Rebillet has over 2 million followers on both YouTube and TikTok, where he’s best known for his viral “Night Time Bitch” sound clip and songs in which he screams at people to get out of bed while wearing a bathrobe. That nugget of context may explain why he opened I/O by clambering out of a giant coffee mug, yelled for all the “silly little nerds” to wake up, and then fired rainbow-hued robes into the crowd that say “Loop Daddy” on the back.
Bring him back next year, Google. I can’t recall the last time a tech event felt this energizing.
