Guests: CJ Carr and Zack Zukowski, Dadabots founders, AI music researchers since 2012, known for intense neural metal streams and frontier AI music research

Key Topics: Live AI performance, prompt jockeying techniques, real-time music generation, cultural implications of AI training data, future of music interfaces

Must-listen conversation with Dadabots founders CJ Carr and Zack Zukowski, who've evolved from their legendary 24/7 neural metal streams into live "prompt jockeying" - performing with tracks that don't exist until they're generated on stage. These creative technologists break down their journey from 2012 SoundCloud remix bots to performing at the UN, revealing the virtuosity behind real-time AI music generation that pushes far beyond typical button-pushing stereotypes.

Key Segments

The Art of Live AI PerformanceCJ and Zack unpack "prompt jockeying" - their term for DJing with AI-generated tracks created in real-time. Using Jupyter notebooks as their interface, they generate tracks in seconds while performing, creating everything from "twinkle trap" (children's music fused with trap beats) to "ghost pepper salsa" (Afro-Cuban percussion meets New England hardcore). The process requires riding "the edge of chaos" - mixing tracks they've never heard while reading crowd energy and venue acoustics.

Technical Innovation Beyond the HypeThe duo explains how diffusion models now generate full 3-4 minute tracks in seconds (versus the hour-per-minute of early sample RNN), enabling live performance. Their approach includes multi-step generation processes, where tracks are fed back through models for layered complexity, and context-aware prompt chaining that creates coherent musical narratives throughout sets.

Research Meets PerformanceDadabots exemplifies the creative technologist archetype - building the very AI tools they perform with while maintaining roots in metal and punk virtuosity. Their 10+ page process documents for the AI Song Contest reveal the technical depth behind seemingly simple outputs, from custom RVC voice models to neural synthesis parameters that achieve timbres "halfway between guitars and synths."

Cultural Implications of AI MusicFascinating exploration of how AI music reflects "the collective consciousness through a hall of mirrors" - training data becomes warped reflections of human culture. Their UN performance, taking genre requests from international diplomats, demonstrates how AI models enable unprecedented cultural fusion while raising questions about attribution and musical authenticity.

Practical Takeaways

* Live AI Performance Setup: Combine DJ software (DJ Pro with Neural Mix) with Jupyter notebooks running diffusion models locally

* Prompt Engineering: Use BPM constraints for seamless mixing; develop signature techniques like multi-step generation

* Venue Adaptation: AI generation enables real-time genre switching based on space, sound system, and audience energy

* Technical Approach: Prioritize local models for performance reliability; build custom tools rather than relying on consumer apps

Notable Insights

"We're music hackers in a band slash hackathon team slash research lab... Code is this other frontier of music."

"It's like DJing, but harder because the tracks don't exist. And so we're going back to back on beats, but we don't know where the beat goes."

"The history of music is influences upon influences upon influences... it is a hall of mirrors."

The Bigger Picture

This conversation captures a pivotal moment in creative technology - the shift from "using AI tools" to "performing with AI" as a creative partner. Dadabots represents the vanguard of human-AI collaboration, where technical skill becomes performative art and code itself becomes an instrument. Their approach signals what's coming for all creative fields: real-time, context-aware AI systems that enable entirely new forms of artistic expression.

For creative technologists across disciplines, this offers a template for authentic AI integration - not replacing human creativity but amplifying it through deep technical understanding and performative mastery. The implications extend far beyond music: imagine live coding visual art, real-time AI-assisted writing, or dynamic design generation that responds to environmental context.

Most significantly, Dadabots demonstrates how the next generation of creative professionals will need to be fluent in both artistic tradition and AI systems architecture - true creative technologists who can build their own tools rather than simply consume them.

Mentioned

Music and Artificial Intelligence: Artistic Trends

Algorave

https://tidalcycles.org/

Reductive, Exclusionary, Normalising: The Limits of Generative AI Music

Music for Computers

Prompt Me

AI Song Contest

Lil Internet Mix (NTS)

https://everynoise.com/

Magenta RT

Prompt Jockey Documentary

Follow Dadabots

https://dadabots.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@dadabots_

https://x.com/dadabots

Prompt Jockey Documentary

Music

R. Tyler - raise ValueError()

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