As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, a growing number of startups are creating tools that let individuals generate music using AI prompts, mimicking the style of any artist they choose. One such startup, called A Vinly Bar in Shibuya—named more like an indie band than a tech company—is developing a series of small applications that allow users to experiment with sounds and vocals in creative ways. Recently, the company secured a $5.5 million pre-seed investment from a group of venture capital firms, including Mantis VC, SV Angel, and Boxgroup, as well as notable investors like Dawn Ostroff, who previously held a high-level position at Spotify and now serves as an advisor to the startup. The founder of A Vinly Bar in Shibuya is Máuhan M Zonoozy, who previously worked as the head of innovation at Spotify. Before that, he co-founded Bubbl, a startup focused on video clipping and remixing, which was later acquired by Cricket Media. Zonoozy left Spotify in 2024, expressing a desire to return to building his own projects. He believes that while streaming services have made music more accessible, most interactions with music still focus on listening rather than creating. To address this, A Vinly Bar in Shibuya is releasing a series of "singles" that are part of an album, each offering a unique way to interact with and modify sound. Among the startup's current projects are several experimental tools. Speed Surfer is a Chrome extension that alters the speed and filters of audio playing in a browser. Usersound is a website where users can create an "audio username" by assigning each letter a musical note. Stacks is a stem player that lets users mix sounds by toggling bars in a 3×3 grid, while Drops involves arranging plaques to guide marbles, which then produce musical notes. Another tool, Sampler, transforms YouTube videos into music samplers by extracting beats from different parts of a song. The company’s most ambitious product to date is an iOS app called bop, which allows users to place instruments and effects on a grid to create new mixes of a base song. Users can adjust tempo and add one-time effects, and then easily export their creations to social media platforms like TikTok or Instagram. A multiplayer version of the app is also in development, enabling users to collaborate on remixing songs with others. While the company is choosing not to integrate AI into every aspect of these apps, Zonoozy remains open to using AI to enhance the tools and ensure their infrastructure is strong. This year, the company aims to launch a "musical sandbox mixer" that will allow users to experiment with various elements of music-making, including creating their own instruments.