Well, hello

Hi! This is Spreewelle — my lifelong playground for musical and cinematic creativity. And another big „Hi,“ because this is also Nova Tymes, my most significant project within Spreewelle so far. It needs some words to explain…

Unleash the AI

In early summer 2024, marking the 20th anniversary of my monthly music mixtapes, I first deeply engaged with AI music-generation tools. Just a year earlier, the technology sounded painfully limited, but suddenly it transformed into a groundbreaking opportunity — my opportunity — to create and share music I genuinely love. Early experiments quickly led to an undeniably danceable track: „Once,“ by the quickly invented British combo „Neon Rivalvry,“ was, at least to my ears, a notable success. It earned me a whole two Euros on Spotify!

2025: It’s getting serious

Fast forward to 2025 — the technology evolved, again, at lightning speed. Two new features provided by platforms like Suno and Udio dramatically changed the game:

1. Uploading custom audio recordings as starting points for new tracks.
2. Consistent lead vocals across multiple songs.

These innovations propelled me toward launching NOVA TYMES. Instead of creating random one-hit wonders, suddenly the world opened up to creating an entirely new artist with unique, coherent musical narratives. And to a new job title: AI-AR. Actually, exactly the job I could find happiness – and fullfillness in.

Introducing Nova Tymes

If you’ve carefully followed the 200 Spreewelle compilations over the past 20 years, you’ve noticed my increasing preference for female vocals. Still genre-open but increasingly driven by the inner urge for hits—real catchy songs—the second driving force emerged: could I create tasteful, perhaps even musically valuable tracks that also appeal to the masses? And could I do this consistently, staying authentic and true to myself?

AI Ethics and Musical Justice

However, amidst this excitement, I can’t ignore a crucial ethical consideration: The incredible algorithms that enable creating genuinely excellent, moving music only exist because millions of under- or unpaid musicians have generously shared their art with small fanbases online. This reality is undeniably unjust and must be explicitly acknowledged when presenting AI-generated music publicly.

Early Feedback: Friends, feelings – and doubts

I’m profoundly grateful for the constructive feedback from close friends and initial listeners. The music resonated exactly as intended. One listener shared a crucial insight: „Listening to your 10 songs, I kept asking myself: would I regret it if I suddenly lost access to these tracks? The clear answer: yes!“ My confidence soared—even I had questioned whether it was only me who believed these songs were truly good and mainstream-ready.

The First Nova Controversy

But there was a catch. Initially, Nova Tymes was portrayed as a brunette woman with slightly Arabic features—and breasts. Not for any attraction reasons, but because it felt fitting to me. Yet, accusations of cultural appropriation quickly arose. The first video showed Nova confidently driving a red jeep through the desert, drenched in sunshine. My close friend, who ironically adored Nova’s music, strongly criticized this portrayal. She was right—the image was simplistic, potentially problematic, and did not reflect my personal stance at all.

Reinventing Nova: A Personal Twist

It was actually my wife who humorously offered a solution. She sent me an AI-generated image using Faceswap, showing me with a female face—a street-smart brunette-blonde woman with a high forehead, a few wrinkles, and beautiful eyes. Instantly, I found my answer. Retraining the image-generation tools with these female-faced versions of myself felt authentic and closer to home. Finally, I was contributing personal data to the AI.

Refining the First Release: „Supernova“

Even detailed critique from my business partner about the original album opener turned productive. Instead of the overly intellectual and vague track „Clarity,“ a new idea emerged during a bike ride: „Supernova.“ This track perfectly introduces Nova Tymes exactly as she’d want to present herself, openly acknowledging she’s not a „real“ musician. It’s playful yet meaningful—finally, the right tone and stance.

The Ambitious Music Video

My ambitious vision for the „Supernova“ video turned out to be complex and challenging. Generating countless individual scenes probably cost an entire rainforest’s worth of server power, but I’m genuinely satisfied with the result.

Now It’s Up to You!

How will Nova fare in the wild? Will she stir controversy, attract fans, and achieve my self-imposed goal of 10,000 streams across platforms this summer?

Stay tuned, join me on this adventure, and let’s see how Nova Tymes resonates—and what reactions she sparks!