Shiraz Uppal creates first ‘Indo-Pak’ AI Singer, Neha Gupta, says ‘Art has no boundaries’

Pakistani renowned singer-songwriter Shiraz Uppal has created the first ‘Indian-Pakistani’ AI singer Neha Gupta after believing there was a “dearth of good female voices” in the country.

Shiraz Uppal is a celebrated musician, composer, and producer with a musical legacy spanning 25 years in both Pakistan and India, owns the renowned S.U. Studios in Lahore.

As per a report in DESIblitz, Shiraz Uppal quoted, “There is a dearth of good female voices in Pakistan while India is full of female voices. So, I decided to create a unique [female] voice that I can use as per my will. This hasn’t been done in India yet.”

Despite the political tensions between Pakistan and India, Shiraz believes Neha’s voice resonates wherever Urdu is spoken, emphasising that “art has no boundaries”.

He elaborated: “If it was a Pakistani, Indians wouldn’t have gotten her to sing for them. “If it was an Indian, Pakistanis would not have gotten her to sing for them, given the situation between the two countries. “For me, art has no boundaries.”

Shiraz began work on the AI singer in 2023 and involved months of training the AI to capture the essence of a female singer’s tone. He said he avoided mimicking popular voices like Shreya Ghoshal and instead opted for a “raw voice” like other Indian singers Rekha Bhardwaj and Sunidhi Chauhan.

Interestingly, Shiraz Uppal used a male voice to create Neha’s sound. He said: “A male friend of mine sang in falsetto to mimic a female’s voice that was converted to Neha Gupta’s through AI.

He added that listeners appreciated Neha’s first song and it has prompted Shiraz to consider creating more AI singers.

Shiraz said: “I can create 10 more voices but right now, I am waiting for the response I get for Neha Gupta. “If it’s very good, I would love to create new male and female voices.”