MusicNewsHolly Herndon releases AI cover of Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’‘This is the kind of song I would never dare to sing with my natural voice’ShareLink copied ✔️November 3, 2022MusicNewsTextSerena Smith Holly Herndon has released a new cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”, but with a twist: the single was recorded with artificial intelligence. The AI cover was created using Herndon’s deepfake twin, Holly+, who was able to sing the iconic song in Herndon’s voice. “I thought it would be fun to share the latest version of the Holly+ voice, which is so realistic that it seems some people haven't realised it is entirely AI-generated,” Herndon tells Dazed. “It felt interesting to cover Dolly for a few reasons. I’ve been exploring the idea of Identity Play (IP), or using AI to be able to perform with or as someone else, and Dolly's music means a lot to me as we are both from Appalachia. This is the kind of song I would never dare to sing with my natural voice. She is a fantasy figure for me,” she continues. The track has been released alongside a new music video, directed by digital artist Sam Rolfes. For the video, Rolfes used motion-capture technology to animate a 3D model of Herndon. “My friend Sam Rolfes is my favourite mixed reality artist, he is a real virtuoso. We discussed these ideas of pastiche and identity play, and we decided he would perform as me performing as Dolly wearing rhinestone nudie suits that were a fantastical representation of Appalachia when I was growing up,” she says. Herndon is no stranger to experimenting with her art, either. “When I started making AI music in 2016 I described it as the baby phase. It was so young and the music I made sounded like babbling. The tools had not yet made any sense of the world,” she tells Dazed. Most recently, Herndon unveiled Holly+ last year. “Now I would say we are in the infant phase,” she says. “It feels appropriate that in the infant phase Holly+ would explore a caricature of my background and features.” “I think this kind of identity play will become very common, and think it is important that it happens in a consenting way,” she adds. “It is important we get it right, but also important to have fun with the possibilities and see what is there.” Watch the video above. Expand your creative community and connect with 15,000 creatives from around the world.READ MOREFrost Children answer the dA-Zed quizThe 5 best features from PinkPantheress’ new remix albumZimmermannKindred spirits and psychedelic florals: Zimmermann heads to 70s Sydney Moses Ideka is making pagan synth-folk from the heart of south LondonBehind-the-scenes at Oklou and FKA twigs’ new video shootBjörk calls for the release of musician ‘kidnapped’ by Israeli authorities‘Her dumbest album yet’: Are Swifties turning on Taylor Swift?IB Kamara on branching out into musicEnter the K-Bass: How SCR revolutionised Korean club culture‘Comic Con meets underground rap’: Photos from Eastern Margins’ day festWho are H.LLS? Get to know London’s anonymous alt-R&B trioTaylor Swift has lost her grip with The Life of a Showgirl