Man-Machine Music shows just how diverse performances can be that arise from the interaction between humans and machines: composed by an AI, the piece was brought to life by human musicians and artists with the help of classical as well as self-playing instruments and real-time visuals.
The concept by Ars Electronica Futurelab artist and researcher Ali Nikrang in collaboration with visual artist Cori O’Lan was originally developed for the Ingolstadt Science Congress WIKOIN 2022 and premiered there with the Georgian Chamber Orchestra. Man-Machine Music was rearranged for the Night Performances on Futurelab Day at the 2022 Ars Electronica Festival: The performance at Deep Space 8K with Ali Nikrang and the f.x.frenzel Quartet – Johanna Bohnen, Lui Chan, Bertin Christelbauer and Laura Maria Jungwirth – was accompanied by live visualizations by Cori O’Lan.
The music was provided by the AI composition system Ricercar, which was developed at the Ars Electroncia Futurelab. The resulting audiovisual performance illustrated to the audience the connection between art and cutting-edge AI-composed music, as well as the great creative potential of this collaboration.
To learn more about the Futurelab Day, including our video about the full experience, read our project page and blog post. To find out more about the Ars Electronica Futurelab’s work, have a look at our website and get in touch!