BY KEVIN YOUNG
In
an article published in the
Toronto Star in 1983, science
fiction grandmaster Isaac Asi-
mov provided his thoughts
on what the world might look
like 35 years later. He didn’t hit the mark
across the board, but some of his predic-
tions were dead on, notably this one:
“The immediate effect of intensifying
computerization will be… to change utterly
our work habits.”
Since 1979, Canadian Musician has
extensively covered how the ever-shifting
technological landscape has affected the
creation and distribution of music. Now, 40
years into our history, we turn to a diverse
group of creators to ask: Where has that
brought us? And where are we heading?
Regardless of the instruments or platforms
we use to create, without fostering a desire
34 CANADIAN MUSICIAN
in others to make music and providing them
with the tools to do so, the technology –
however advanced it may be – won’t matter.
“We’ve taken the humanity out of
school, I think, by removing the arts,” muses
famed Canadian producer/engineer Bob
Ezrin. “Through the arts, as kids, we learned
how to relate to each other, explore our
feelings, and express ourselves as full hu-
man beings. We learned to work together
as a group and still be responsible for our
individual parts, and, that by practicing, we
get good at things.” Most importantly: “We
were encouraged to use our imagination
and to dream.”
Beyond his work as an educator, com-
poser, and his production of iconic albums
like The Wall, Ezrin is a tireless advocate for
music education. “Getting your hands on
an instrument and learning how to make
something beautiful with it, to me, is one of
Colin Linden
On How Technology Has Influenced His Career:
“The dawn of independent recording helped me a
lot. When I was a kid, it wasn’t an option to have a
place of your own where you could actually record.
Independent recording studios brought recording
down to the level that people who were just play-
ers, singers, and writers could make records. I was
15 when I started; at 16, I left school and became
a professional musician and had a need to make
demos, so that kind of thing really helped.”
those rich experiences that goes a long way
towards the formation of a complete human
being.”
Ezrin has always embraced new tech-
nology with enthusiasm, but puts a pre-
mium on the value of “the social aspect of
making music” – of working collectively to
hone your own skills and push others to do
the same.
Great art can be created in isolation, but
collaboration inevitably raises your stan-
dards beyond those you set for yourself.
“We all need someone to push us along,
to get better and achieve more. That’s why
all musicians who are really successful had
someone in their life that kicked their butts.
Apps don’t kick your butt. I don’t care how
good, intuitive, or sophisticated they are; by
nature, they’re more reactive than interac-
tive. The pursuit of excellence in any field
forces us to practice, study, learn from oth-
ers, and seek information and techniques
from the outside world.”
Technological advances have altered
our work, he says, and will continue to. “Arti-
ficial intelligence is going to provide us with
a better experience and deeper relationship
with the tools we use. They will be more
interactive and not just reactive and they’ll
have, built into their rule set, the ability to
change their architecture on the fly,” Ezrin
predicts. He then adds with a laugh: “So
maybe we can build criticism into them.”
The upside of the myriad of advances
in MI and recording technology is the ability
to do virtually anything you can think of