Unheard Jimi Hendrix Recordings May Get Beatles AI Treatment

Following in the footsteps of the Beatles’ AI-assisted final song, “Now and Then,” the technology may be utilized to restore previously unheard material by Jimi Hendrix.

Eddie Kramer is the producer and engineer charged with working on the late guitarist’s archival work. In a recent interview with The Vinyl Guide podcast, he admitted AI technology opens the doors for further exploration of Hendrix’s material.

“It’s really very advanced digital manipulation, and now the technology has become so evolved,” Kramer explained, noting that AI is the next big step in audio production. “I’m sure if we found another tape [on which] Jimi’s voice is buried, I know I could use something similar, which I’ve done before, but now it’s going to be on a much higher level.”

READ MORE: How Jimi Hendrix's 'Are You Experienced?' Revolutionized Rock Guitar

Kramer is part of the Experience Hendrix team – along with Janie Hendrix (Jimi’s step-sister) and archivist John McDermott – which handles the guitar god’s catalog and legacy. The engineer admitted he already knows of some unreleased material that he’d like to revisit with AI technology.

“Yes, there are tapes that I would love to get my hands on with John and Janie and say, ‘Hey, maybe we can do X or Y,” Kramer confessed. And though he cautioned no release was imminent, the engineer said he was “very curious to see what the future holds.”

Newly Released Jimi Hendrix Live Album From 1967

Kramer mixed the recently released live album Jimi Hendrix Experience: Hollywood Bowl August 18, 1967. Recorded five days before the Jimi Hendrix Experience released their debut album, tapes of the performance were unearthed by chance by a third party who contacted the Experience Hendrix team.

READ MORE: Top 10 Jimi Hendrix Songs

Discoveries like that, Kramer noted, are what keeps his job exciting.

“This whole concept of restoration, it feels sometimes as if I’m part archaeologist with the little brushes brushing away the dirt from the stones and the bones and then revealing something spectacular,” Kramer explained. “I love it.”