Neural & Nostalgia: My AI-Powered Pop Reimagining
By Jakob Montrasio I’m thrilled to share my latest creative adventure: Neural & Nostalgia, released July 9, 2025. This album has been a true labor of love—part homage, part experiment, and wholly a celebration of how AI can become a creative partner.
Why “Neural & Nostalgia”?
I’ve always been fascinated by the emotional power of pop music. Growing up, songs like “Dancing Queen,” “Billie Jean” and “Blinding Lights” sound-tracked my life’s biggest moments. But what happens when you feed those timeless hooks into an AI, reshape their DNA with new lyrics, modern production and a dash of meta-humor? The result is Neural & Nostalgia: fourteen beloved melodies reborn alongside two originals.
The title itself nods to that duality. “Neural” for the networks and algorithms humming behind every beat; “Nostalgia” for that warm, familiar feeling you get when a classic riff kicks in.
Tracklist & Highlights
Featuring 19 tracks in total, Neural & Nostalgia blends reimagined classics and two originals:
- Intro
- Neon Eyes
- Metro Groove
- Slowly (Lentamente)
- Embers in My Veins
- Neon City Style
- Feel This Moment
- Hidden Signals
- Speak to Me Again
- Roll with My Crew
- Balla Così
- Eternal Embrace
- Silent Vigil
- Midnight Alibi
- Keepin’ the Beat Alive
- Starlight Fever
- Forever With Me (Original)
- Tonight We Shine (Original)
- Outro
Two Originals: “Chasing Stardust” & “Tonight We Shine”
While most of Neural & Nostalgia is reimagined pop, I couldn’t resist adding two brand-new songs—Chasing Stardust and Tonight We Shine. These tracks explore life’s glowing moments—those sparks of joy we chase long after the spotlight fades. They’re proof that AI can enhance, but the human spark still lights the way.
The Creative Process
Many of you know I’ve released three other AI-driven albums this summer: Frames & Frequencies (electronic soundscapes), Machinery & Mayhem (industrial techno) and Chronicle & Shadows (cinematic neoclassical). Each project taught me new facets of prompt-writing and fine-tuning. But Neural & Nostalgia felt like the culmination—a playful, post-genre playground where disco, funk, synth-pop and arena rock collide under the watchful eye of machine learning.
Writing prompts is like directing a film. You set the scene, define the mood, tweak every detail until the AI actors deliver just the right performance. The magic happens when you let go of perfectionism and embrace the happy accidents—those glitchy harmonies or unexpected chord shifts that give a song its personality.
Listen to Neural & Nostalgia now
Final Thoughts
At its heart, Neural & Nostalgia asks: what makes music “real”? Is it the human hand that writes the words, or the spark of creativity—human or machine—that moves us? I don’t have all the answers, but I hope these songs make you dance, think and maybe—even just for a moment—smile at how wonderfully strange this AI-powered journey can be.
Thank you for listening, sharing and being part of this experiment. Here’s to chasing more stardust—together.
