I told my wife, when bookoff smile came out, that the best thing that could happen is that it would be "outdated by summer" and it seems my highest hopes are about to be met!!

https://youtube.com/shorts/YwGAn9QSVuk?feature=share

Hey all! Just a heads up, I spoke a bit about the project on the fantastic Hold Onto The Colours podcast. Give it a listen if you'd like to hear a bit more about it!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1fHbcvaShlQGVF9VqRoiye?si=6CHD5DRPT1S3omgq0wxNww&utm_source=copy-link

I know I'm not going to be able to fully express how much all your comments mean to me, so I'll try to keep it simple...

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences listening to this, it really makes me very happy to see others finding joy in what I've created. To hear folks say that this may be their "go-to" Smile mix, well I just don't even know what to say!  I put so much work into making sure this was something special and to see it appreciated makes it worth it one hundred times over.

I also really appreciate the comments about the mix being "tasteful" or about the "mood". Over the years I have made many albums, and I have tried to hone my abilities putting an album together. It's an art in and of itself to take completed songs and find a flow that creates a coherent work. Smile has been one of the things I always returned to when asking myself how many crazy, but still coherent, ways an album can be designed!

My goal for this mix was "imagine this as an actual product put on shelves, a finished package". Not so much in that each song had to be a hit, but rather that they had to make some sense as music pressed onto a commercial record. I believe I got pretty close with that goal, so those complements are specifically meaningful to me!

Finally, to hear that the "illusion works"... Rab is right, that is a fantastic line. Nothing I've heard since release has so completely summed up my hopes, and ultimately my relief, like that. When I first recorded the ai vocals, and got them slid into the tracks the way the belonged, I had a moment like many of you where I just had to listen and let my brain fill in the gaps. My fiancé probably thought I was a crazy person, laughing like a maniac... but I think Brian would be proud to know that his work continues to bring even LONG TIME FANS so much surprise and excitement a half century later.

Thanks so much for the kind words, and thank you for listening! 

It appears mine will be too, I'm likely going to take down the rest tonight to avoid hitting the copy-strike limit. DYLW was the first one...

Hey everyone!

So, after giving things another once-over in my head... I decided that I would still like to release the model.
I discuss my thoughts in a video here: https://youtu.be/7svhZEOz0ZE

While I don't explain everything in the tutorial, I do explain just enough to get a dedicated fan across the finish line.
I'm so excited to see what you guys are able to create!

You can learn more here: https://youtu.be/qrojawZbKzU

I'm so so glad you enjoyed the mix!! In particular, I'm glad you could appreciate the mixing changes here. The AI vocals are really cool, but ultimately the effort was just as large to get these songs sounding their best!

Working on this has brought back my love of the Beach Boys as well, so I can relate! I had a lot of fun reading through your comments (and everyone else's!) about their experience listening. To think that an album we've heard so SO many times can still surprise us and create new, fun listening memories...

... Brian really was a goshdarn genus, wasn't he? 

Thanks again for listening and for the comments. It was my pleasure to create and share this with everyone!!

Here's the link to check it out: https://vimeo.com/817502458
(Download link is in the main thread)

Guess I’m dumb, but I don’t know what you mean by “the main thread,” and I can’t find a download link. Muchas gracias!

Not dumb!! Here's a link
http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,28324.msg682179/boardseen.html#new

Thank you so much! For someone on this forum to say listening to Smile can still be a fresh experience, that's a huge complement! 

Hello! Those were not intended as a part of this mix, I just felt that they did not fit into my vision of the finished album.
That said, I plan to take a swing at them after a short break.

I hope you enjoyed all the rest of the mix, though!

First off, thank you for the kind words and feedback!!  I wasn't sure about the Water Chant either! It was actually the last thing I added, and I am glad I did.
As for the other band members, I completely agree. I was a bit sad that I didn't have them ready for, say, Love to Say Dada where I really feel they could come to good use. That said, it's definitely possible and in the cards in the future!

I added a base64 download link to the OP with flac files of the mix! Just google base64 decode and paste that link, you'll be golden.

Enjoy everyone!

Thanks so much! I'll make sure to get the flac and mp3 files out this weekend alongside the stems and other downloads!

Thanks for listening!

[BOOKOFF SMILE]

In the summer of 2018 I traveled to Japan. On this trip, I discovered the wonders of the many "recycling shops" dotting the busy streets. These stores contain a number of exciting, almost random items that no longer have a loving home. A popular chain of these shops uses the "OFF" moniker, as in BOOKOFF.
 
On that fateful summer day, I slid a pink record sleeve out of a neatly packed shelf of vinyl records. Looking down at my prize, I was presented with a Native American glancing at the bicycle parked on the shore. The OBI strip simply ready: The Beach Boys Smile"
 
Now, as a long time fan... I found myself immediately taken aback. What was this mysterious record? Where did it come from? I didn't even have a turntable handy until I very careful brought this music back to the place it had been recorded. When the needle hit the disc, I discovered something utterly shocking. A seemingly complete, clean, stereo mix of the Beach Boys' unreleased opus.
 
...
 
Or not! That's just a story! But after all, in some universe that must be true.

BOOKOFF SMILE


My ultimate Smile mix! Fully stereo, cleaned up mixes, and tons of new AI vocals!!

Plenty more to read in my liner notes here: https://pastebin.com/U1ScQczE

But beyond that, take a listen and let me know what you think!
https://vimeo.com/817502458

Download Link (FLAC) : aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWdhLm56L2ZvbGRlci9hUW9tR1JTUSMtTVdnaVE0bnVuNWNnb1RLa2RJclFB
Please use Base64 Decryption on the above to access the MEGA link

I'll be updating this thread with a release of the Brian ai model, a tutorial, and the isolated stems for the new vocals this weekend!

Love and Mercy! --Mike

[so I've posted it to Vimeo below!]

Hey all, this will be my last update for a bit... I've been working on this basically non-stop!  



BOOKOFF Smile will release tomorrow at 5pm EST. I've got a YouTube Premier set up here:

YouTube ruined all the fun! Despite more than 80% of the video being heavily modified content, I doubt my claim against it will win... so I've posted it to Vimeo below! I have *FLAC quality sourced versions* of the songs that I hope to find a way to legally share at some point. As I mentioned, I have put plenty of blood sweat and tears into pretty much every track, so fair use should cover most of it (especially unmonetized)

Here's the link to check it out: https://vimeo.com/817502458
(Download link is in the main thread)

I'll probably make a thread for it in the Smile section of the forum, since I have quite a few more things planned to post alongside it (isolated vocals, the AI model, tutorials... etc)

I sincerely hope you all enjoy it! As much as it is a labor of love to Smile, it's also a labor of love to the fanbase and this site in particular. I remember being here 10 years ago talking about these songs, and here I am today still doing the same!  

It's sure to move a million units... today!

That is a really great interpretation! I just, personally, can't get the other lines in the song to fit into that structure 

Don't wanna overshare, the surprise is part of the fun after all, but I put up a short of some progress.
https://youtube.com/shorts/58GyNt3kCGg?feature=share

Having a lot of fun with this! Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do making it.

Hello! Logging in from the distant past to say: VERY much enjoying the Smile stuff, BUT:

It's BEADED cheering Indians, not BEARDED!

As myself an "Indian" (Anishinaabe / Metis), I can tell you: growing beards is not our strong suit in any way! Many tribes haven't facial hair at all. Beads, on the other hand, are a staple of most tribes!

Ah shoot! You're damn right! I'll be sure to correct this, thank you very much!!

First off, thank you and thank you to everyone else who has commented on YT I really appreciate the feedback and I hope the full project lives up to the expectations set!

Cabinessenceking, I completely agree. When I started BOOKOFF Smile, I just aimed to remaster all the tracks into the cleanest FLAC Stereo mixes modern AI could facilitate. I found myself singing along to the songs and imagining... but being able to hear just a tiny bit of how it MAY have sounded... it gets the brain juice pumping and really starts to fill in the blanks. I hope the feeling is just as strong with the other tracks!

Love to Say Dada... what a track. In Blue Hawaii has some of my favorite vocals on BWPS... I'm giving it my all and really trying to capture the arrangement as close to a Brian sound as I can. Obviously, the more vocals missing the harder the task... DYLW was close to finished compared to these! 

That is a really great interpretation! I just, personally, can't get the other lines in the song to fit into that structure 

Don't wanna overshare, the surprise is part of the fun after all, but I put up a short of some progress.
https://youtube.com/shorts/58GyNt3kCGg?feature=share

Having a lot of fun with this! Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do making it.

I may be jumping the gun a bit on the mix (I will clean that up for the full release!) but I couldn't wait to share my full-vocal-ed mix of Do You Like Worms!

https://youtu.be/_7lOI-tU1lQ

The notes on the video explain a lot, so I'll let it speak for itself. Please enjoy!!

Great work! Being totally ignorant of how hard the process of making this stuff is, could you possibly make an alternate version with Brian's found melody from TSS? I would love to hear someone's interpretation of that.

Thank you!!
Absolutely! This was one of the things I tried, I just don't know how the rest of the lyrics would fit into that scheme   Definitely worth exploring though!

First off, seltaeb, if you would like me to start my own thread I surely will. I don't wanna hijack your awesome work, but I feel it's a little redundant to create another AI thread.

Second... I have a question for you all...

Do you Like Worms?
https://youtu.be/Gdeh72-mFoA

I'm working on the full track, as well as a few more pieces of Smile. I have a separate model from seltaeb I've been training myself. I'm not perfect at performing for it yet either! That said, let me know what you think! I figure, since it isn't "real" I should add a bit of my own arrangement while keeping it true to the vision as closely as can be with the limited info and lack of recordings.

So excited to share the whole Smile mix with you all! I have a lot more going on here than just the AI vocals!

AWESOME work on the latest one! So inspiring!
Can't believe this is where tech is... imagine how the geniuses of the era would feel listening to these "ghosts" 

You're doing great work  Just keep focusing on that feeling of "oh crap, it works!"

I've been messing with models for the last few weeks whenever I have a free moment... trust me, I respect how great this has come out so far!

Ain't easy to set up!

Hello all, been a while!

Many moons ago someone here had the excellent advice that I pair up with some singers and vocalists to create some new music as a group.

So, using a few hired hands and a set of some nice new tracks, here we have it!

AFTERNOON NAP CLUB is an album that is short, sweet, and has a style to it. I liken it to the "liminal" nostalgia that has been getting more and more popular.



https://open.spotify.com/album/1mCbgpJKdQ0feHVIzlS34B?si=lIYJ30z1S2GyyrG6R0mNGg&utm_source=copy-link

I truly hope you all enjoy this project, I've been recording for many years and this is one that is particularly special. My (by the time you read this, we get married in early June!) wife actually features alongside me on the final vocal parts of "Yokohama".

Fascinated to see this! Amazing work so far. Training the models can be quiiiiite time consuming!

I *may* have been working on a new Smile mix using all this fun new Ai stuff... keep your eyes and ears peeled...
There's a lot more to this AI stuff than generating new vocals, even the ability to separate specific voices and instruments can mean amazing things for good, clean new mixes of tracks we have no masters for. (Barnyard? Child is Father of the Man??? Wonderful?)

Today I was perusing my ever-growing City Pop Vinyl Collection from Japan when I realized one of the "kings" of Japanese Pop, Tatsuro Yamashita, had done a cover of
"Guess I'm Dumb". It just so happens that that's one of my favorite tracks from Brian. I figured I should share it because, honestly it really rocks!

Cool to see some obscure tracks get some love from the pop-music scene worldwide. No surprise to many here that The Beach Boys are quite popular in the land of the rising sun.

https://youtu.be/MKZfWqkml_U

So basically what I'm reading is that the problem isn't that you don't agree with what Mike is doing... but you just don't agree with his politics.

Okie dokie, join the club. 99% of the artists I listen to would probably call me horrible things because I happen to disagree with them.