BON JOUR is an alternative rock band formed in 2022, whose identity has so far been hidden behind illustrated 3D heads is hidden. With the first single “Blue Moon”, BON JOUR already landed at number 1 in the FM4 charts. The first live concert was supporting ALT-J in Metastadt in front of 5000 people. One can name the formation of the three musicians, who state their studio in Vienna as their home base and with “And so we met again” are now also releasing their debut EP (release: 19.05), which they call an insider tip in the truest sense of the word. The music video for their song “All I Know” was created with the help of artificial intelligence, which, given the omnipresent explosiveness of the topic AI, the content of the interview dominierte. The conversation was led by Dominik Beyer.
May I ask questions about your identities or would you like to remain anonymous?
Good morning: What does secret mean? Our concept is not to remain secret. Many from the bubble already know it anyway. We don’t play concerts masked either. It’s more about self-expression. There are two reasons for this. On the one hand, we are and have all been involved in different projects. Good morning should remain unaffected by this. As independent as possible.
The other reason was a certain lightness that went hand in hand with the formation of the band project. In the rehearsal room everyone left their ego at the door. That was very pleasant. And that’s when the claim arose to take this “kill your ego” thing to the extreme. In short, without our faces. Of course, especially with newcomer bands, the face has to be visible everywhere. In this case, it didn’t feel right to us.
To counteract the industry-typical narcissism?
Good morning: Full. Most of the time, that’s justifiable. We were busy with everything in the studio but self-expression, so we thought about how we could continue to differentiate ourselves from that. That’s how the idea for the 3D heads came about.
We won’t keep the identities a secret forever. It’s clear. But we don’t want to advertise our music with our faces. This means that there is automatically more focus on the essentials again. Everyone knows that this is not 100% possible. But it’s an attempt to distract from our people.
Does that maybe even fuel the interest of the formation?
Good morning: It’s too early to judge. The first motivation was not to stir up interest. More of a curiosity about new media and technologies. Certainly also a sporting zeal to see if this utopia of ego dissolution can also be implemented. We can do it? In any case, the first interview we had with the moving 3D heads was really funny to watch.
“You go viral, but no one notices.”
Speaking of new media. Do you use tiktok?
Good morning: No. Not yet. Because of different reasons. We do everything ourselves in order to be able to act quickly. Every additional channel that you record also means a lot of extra work if you run it properly.
We are a small team. Based on data we received from Spotify know, our target audience is between 25 and 35. That speaks against it tiktok. I’m also afraid that some music will be on tiktok gets a lot of clicks, but no one knows the name of the song or the band that goes with it. You go viral, but no one notices.
Also, we are all fans of the Medium album. It tells a story and everything fits together. That will be with the format tiktok not exactly supported. At least that’s my feeling. Maybe one day we can be found there. But not with the goal of one tiktok-Hit to land.
You had your music video created with the help of AI. Were yours expectations Fulfills?
Good morning: It is always difficult to say whether you are satisfied with a music video or with your own songs. But what is good for us is that you can always discover new details. One can get lost in the visual abundance. This also corresponds to the demands we place on our music production. Despite all the catchiness and simplicity, small details always come to light when you listen to it repeatedly.
First and foremost, it was really exciting for us to see what can be achieved with new technology despite scarce resources. We now know that we can also create music videos in a short time with the help of AI. Although the term music video is perhaps not quite correct. It’s more like visuals that underline the song and, in the best case, capture a feeling that goes with the song.
Does AI already play a role in your music production?
Good morning: Not yet in music production. However, we haven’t tried it yet. Letting the AI write a song won’t happen either. We will definitely try it out as a help tool soon. For example: “Create a beat in the style of Motown.” This way you can get inspiration and have your first sketches created. In music, however, it’s important not to lose the human touch, I’ll call it that. And that’s still the problem with AI at the moment. It just uses existing things. Reinterpretations work well. But that one special thing gets lost in the process.
As is well known, style is not protected by copyright. Advertising has been taking advantage of this for a long time by having “soundalikes” produced. This is a song that imitates an artist’s style to avoid expensive licensing costs of the original. With AI, this would experience a new and probably unmanageable dimension. Do you think that copyright law should be amended here? Especially considering the authenticity of the last of Drake / theWeeknd imitated single “heart on my sleeve” in mind.
Good morning: You can’t protect chord progressions, otherwise very little new music would emerge. Similarly, it will not be possible to ban imitating a style with AI. But something like digital watermarks is urgently needed. At the moment, this applies even more to the use or creation of images. Images have a strong documentary value for us. It’s evidence. But as always, the market was faster than the regulating decision-makers. It’s absurd how easy it is to fake pictures these days. You could wage the worst smear campaign against anyone.
That a song created with AI on tiktok can go viral has already been proven. But AI will still not be able to do a lot of things in the future. I’m sure. For example live concerts. That’s one of the most important aspects in the industry.
Would you make your music available for AI training free of charge without feeling cheated of your copyright?
Good morning: Yes and no. Of course it depends on the context and who is doing it. What is the goal of the AI? I am sure there will soon be organizations that I would make it available to if I know what they are doing with it. If the goal is to support super-capitalist organization, a clear no.
I would find an association of independent musicians who would like to develop a sketch tool as an NPO very exciting. A tool, so to speak, that brings something to those who work in the industry. You feed in songs to get rhythm inspiration or sounds. That would definitely be exciting. But I find it strange to give away all the songs to a company and then automatically get new songs. Basically, we are not at all averse to this technology as an aid for new things.
Have you already experimented outside of the album production? AI, which acts as a tool for arrangements with the resource-friendly midi format, seems to already exist. There is Spotify also a driving initiator.
Good morning: No not at all. Our studio is like a safe space at the moment. The motivation to write songs together is just so great that it wouldn’t even occur to us to bring in AI. Maybe someday when we’re looking for new inspiration.
“It also takes creativity to steer the AI.”
Which part of the songwriting would you most like to give up? This is most likely possible at the moment when writing lyrics.
Good morning: Actually right at the beginning. After the first idea is fixed, I would let the AI create a first draft. Like a preset from which to develop and incorporate your own ideas. Especially when you already know what you want to sing about. It also takes creativity to steer the AI. If you enter something boring, you will also get boring results. So you become more of a creative director. You no longer have to implement the vision yourself.
There are already so many bad pictures that were created with AI. The good results were created by people who have already done a lot of typing. So far, a common misconception is that if you tell the AI: “Make me a work of art.”
What prompt would you have to enter to get a Good morning Get track from an AI?
Good morning: Of course I have to say particularly good things now. Not that I compare myself to that. (laughs)
Create me a Motown inspired groove…
…Groove will definitely appear 3 times…
with a very playful groovy lead bass that gives the band a slightly psychedelic note Tame Impala owns. Composed with the catchiness of Hosier.
do you do everything yourself?
Good morning: Yes, currently. Now we have to use our motivation and do our homework. No label can take that away from you anyway. A big label wouldn’t really be of any use to us at the beginning anyway.
Thank you for the interview
Dominik Beyer
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Good Day Live:
18.06.2023 LIDO SOUNDS, LINZ DONAUUFER, AUSTRIA
08/05/2023 SCENE OPEN AIR, LUSTENAU, AUSTRIA
07.09.2023 WAVES VIENNA, WIEN, AUSTRIA
14.09.2023 ROCKHOUSE BIRTHDAY PARTY, SALZBURG, AUSTRIA
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