Hualien AI Music Lab: Musicians and AI Co-Create Songs Showcasing Taiwan’s Unique AI Pop Music Aesthetic
[March 14, 2025] The Hualien AI Music Lab held its Opening Showcase today, featuring prominent musicians such as legendary folk singer and Lab’s Operations Director Li Jianfu (Li Jian Fu), Music Director Ado’ Kaliting Pacidal, as well as Suming Rupi and Lim Giong. The event unveiled four AI-assisted compositions inspired by “Whales, Ocean, Flowers, and Birds”—iconic elements of Hualien’s natural landscape. These works merge Taiwan’s rich cultural diversity with AI technology, symbolizing AI’s integration into everyday life beyond its cold, mechanical image.
Dubbed the “Godfather of Folk Music”, Li Jianfu was an early adopter of AI in music, having played a key role in developing AI i-Broadcast, the world’s first officially licensed Mandarin AI singing platform. At today’s event, Li guided the AI in recreating youthful renditions of Fan Yiwen and Li Mingde’s voices and visuals. Together, they performed “Drifting Bird” (composed by Jin Tiezhang and written by Li Shuping), blending real and AI-generated vocals to create a dreamlike fusion of past and present.
Renowned composer and film scorer Lim Giong, known for fusing tradition with technology, crafted an exclusive soundtrack for the “Creative Otherworld” exhibition space at the Lab. Infused with electronic elements, the music evokes the flow and vastness of the ocean, enhancing the immersive audiovisual experience. Visitors’ AI-generated lyrics are projected onto the walls, floating alongside cosmic whales gliding through a starry universe.
Renowned Amis singer-songwriter Ado’ Kaliting Pacidal, dedicated to preserving Indigenous culture, presented her original song “A Poem from the Ocean to the Island”. The song illustrates the interdependent relationship between the island and the sea—the Pacific, like a mother’s apron, embraces Taiwan as waves kiss Hualien’s shores, inspiring the songs of ancestors. The piece incorporates the Amis call-and-response singing style, with Ado’ leading and her AI-generated voice responding, symbolizing AI’s role in empowering artists through collaboration.
Suming Rupi, an Amis singer from Dulan, Taitung, drew inspiration from Hualien’s “Flowers” to compose “If I Were a Flower”, a heartfelt song performed alongside an AI-generated vocal track. The accompanying AI-generated music video incorporates Hualien’s signature natural elements—flowers, stones, the ocean, mountains, pine trees, and rice fields—bringing the island’s emotional and cultural essence to life in a unique visual and auditory experience.
The Hualien AI Music Lab, powered by Taiwan AI Labs, integrates Taiwan’s native AI creation tools. At its core is AI Music FedGPT, a GPT model specifically trained for Traditional Chinese pop music, with an extensive dataset of 100 billion Taiwanese linguistic records. Historically, AI-generated vocals have predominantly used Mandarin models, but through collaborations with Indigenous artists Ado’ Kaliting Pacidal and Suming Rupi, the Lab has successfully developed authentic AI-generated Indigenous vocals. Ado’ expressed amazement at AI’s capability, saying, “At first listen, I thought—this AI voice sounds exactly like me!”
Recognizing Hualien and Taitung’s rich music scene, the Ministry of Culture chose Hualien Cultural and Creative Industries Park as the site for the Hualien AI Music Lab. Since its soft opening in January, the Lab has welcomed nearly 10,000 visitors from Taiwan and abroad, generating over 6,000 AI-assisted songs.
The Lab’s first-floor AI Experience Exhibition is open to the public for free, offering a QR Code-guided tour through the Music Hallway, where visitors can create AI-powered songs in the Creative Otherworld, experience their AI-generated music videos played at the “Pick & Play Warehouse”, and capture their “Superstar Moment” at the Starlight Avenue photo zone.
For more information on upcoming lectures, courses, and performances, visit the official Hualien AI Music Lab website: https://hmusic.moc.gov.tw.
