Peak Time – Ash Koosha, Nozomu Matsumato and Uppy on AI in Music

The line between physical reality and disembodied imagination has blurred — we've begun to witness a coalescence of man and machine, manifested in the shape of artificial intelligence, and it's a natural progression to see musicians incorporate the technology into their sonic productions. Today's guest host Harley Brown speaks with some of the artists at the forefront of this fruitful yet unchartered territory. Up first is British-Iranian multi-instrumentalist and composer Ash Koosha, who released the first fully immersive VR music album in 2016. His approach to the man vs. machine relationship is one of mutual collaboration and seamless continuity, and he stresses that AI is to be seen as an extension of our own cognition. Next month he will release his _Return 0_ album, a 13-track collection 15 years in the making.