Randy Travis has made history with the release of “Where That Came From,” the 65-year-old’s first new song in over a decade.
The release of new music from Travis comes as a surprise to most, as the country legend suffered a debilitating stroke in 2013 that left him with aphasia, affecting his ability to sing and speak. However, Travis’ music label Warner Music Nashville, along with his longtime producer, Kyle Lehning, came up with the idea to use artificial intelligence (AI) to essentially give Travis his voice back. Lehning created a new rendition of “Where That Came From,” an unreleased song written by Scotty Emerick and John Scott Sherril, originally recorded by James Dupre (a frequent Travis touring partner). Per The Tennessean, Lehning and Travis spent months working, millisecond by millisecond, on every note of “Where That Came From,” blending human touches with artificial intelligence to create a uniquely authentic work.
Shared Travis: “Eleven years ago I never thought I would be able to have a hand in music production of any kind. But by God’s grace and the support of family, friends, fellow artists, and fans, I’m able to create the music I so dearly love. Working with Kyle Lehning and Warner Music Nashville again has been so special and nostalgic, and I’m so excited to share my new song “Where That Came From” with you today. Many thanks to my wonderful team and the best fans in the world for putting me back in the saddle again! I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.”
Lehning selected 42 tracks from the country star’s vault, including the original recording of his hit “1982,” and plucked out snippets of his signature vocals. From there, he used a “surrogate” voice to complete the project, which came from the song’s original recording artist, DuPre. The AI program took these stripped-down clips of Travis’ voice and overlayed it on top of DuPre’s vocals to create a sound that still holds that same comforting feeling that his music has offered throughout his entire career.
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