Hello again
Seven months ago we shared a post of an AI-generated voice demo we produced of a well-known short story…
What has evolved and improved since February (when we used an off-the-shelf voice, Katharine) is quite astounding. For this updated demonstration we have used the officially licenced version of a South African voice legend - Malcolm Gooding. Yes, THAT Malcolm... from Springbok Radio, Squad Cars, and half the blue chip adverts and corporates you can think of.
Originally I was listening out for three things, specifically:
Pronunciation quirks - Does the AI handle period-appropriate language naturally?
Emotional range - Can it distinguish between Della’s desperate hope and her resigned sacrifice?
Pacing and rhythm - O. Henry writes with a particular cadence. Does AI catch it or flatten it?
It’s worth listening out for these same three again…
Here are both versions…
(off-the-shelf AI voice) Katherine reading (circa Feb 2026)
(AI version of) Malcolm Gooding reading (Sept 2026)
I’ll leave it to you to take a quick listen to each and see/hear for yourself the progress that’s been made. I’d love to receive your feedback.
FYI - Malcolm is the first of several Heritage Voices whose AI clones we represent. This means you can send us a script and we will quote and produce the raw audio for you, and (and this is the biggie)… we can issue you with an official usage licence. And since Malcolm will likely be out tending to his olives while his clone does the work, you can expect a sizeable reduction of the performance fee. #winwin
It’s amazing what can change in 7 months!
What an adventure!
