Audiovisual performance for radio telescope, artificial intelligence and self-playing organ
Outside of the venue, a radio telescope is streaming all incoming data live. The received electromagnetic waves are transferred to an audible frequency range. Electronic noises fill the air. Algorithms transcribe the noise of the skies into midi notes; they are sent to an electronic apparatus which operates the organ. Various selection and filtering processes (e.g. specific artificial intelligences) are applied in a determined order, serving as a basic score and dividing the piece into three chapters. A set of parameters allows it to respond live to the incoming signals, using both the radio telescope and the AI as musical instruments. On the floating canvas above the stage, the sounds turn into abstract images. Little by little, neural networks take control over the organ and seek out familiar harmonies in the otherworldly noises. Ideas of melodies evolve as the artificial intelligence begins to fantasize about familiar tunes in these alien sounds. In collaboration with Christian Losert.
Fantasie#1 / Quadrature (DE) in collaboration with Christian Losert (DE), Credit: vog.photo
Fantasie#1 / Quadrature (DE) in collaboration with Christian Losert (DE), Credit: vog.photo
Fantasie#1 / Quadrature (DE) in collaboration with Christian Losert (DE), Credit: vog.photo
Fantasie#1 / Quadrature (DE) in collaboration with Christian Losert (DE), Credit: vog.photo
Project Credits:
- Thanks to Sebastian Müllauer for the telescope and Klaus Holzapfel for his Orgamat
- software: HDSDR for receiving telescope signal, MaxMSP for creating MIDI and usage of AI, VVVV for visuals and general control
- created as part of the fellowship program #bebeethoven, a project by PODIUM Esslingen on the occasion of the Beethoven Anniversary 2020, funded by Kulturstiftung des Bundes.
Biography:
Quadrature’s artistic explorations gravitate towards data, physical experiments and new technologies as inspiration and raw material. For some years, the Berlin-based duo has been focusing on methods and tools for exploring the cosmos. The performance is developed in collaboration with Christian Losert, a Berlin-based sound artist and creative technologist.
https://quadrature.co/
