This AI Maestro Wants to Serenade You

Philip Sheppard has recorded solo cello albums, composed more than 60 soundtracks, and adapted 206 national anthems for Olympic Games medal ceremonies. He knows every corner of the famed Abbey Road Studios. His work is the process of creating music, but sometimes he just wants to listen, preferably while walking in the woods. During one of those walks, in 2016, he didn't want to be bothered choosing what music to play. Instead he imagined some sort of magical accompaniment piped into his earphones that would dynamically reflect his surroundings and his mood, a literal soundtrack for his saunter.