Photo Credit: SònarⒸ
At the end of this past October, between the 27th and 30th, the Sónar 2021 Festival once again reactivated the musical panorama of avant-garde rhythms, in addition to promoting the advanced music industry (Diffusion, Science and Research), in a very intense format, with more than 100 activities between concerts, DJ sets, conferences, and presentations on Artificial Intelligence and the implications of ‘Algorithms in Music Creation’ among other topics.
Once again, Sònar has exceeded all expectations, becoming a complete success. Outstanding organization, the good reception of the public – ‘Sold Out’ on all occasions -, and especially due to the diverse and rich artistic proposal. Its scientific essence has permeated most of the events, such as Hamill Industries & Kiani del Vall, Holly Herndon feat. Maria Arnal, Matthew Dryhurst, Mouse on Mars, et al.
These are our highlights from Sònar’s ‘Synergies of musical creation & Artificial Intelligence’ 2021 edition.
Continuing development of BotBop’s custom software and implementations using primarily open-source software enables real-time score generation and its extrapolation to individual parts for a string quartet.
A spectacular co-creation between visual artists Hamill Industries, award-winning choreographer Kiani del Valle, and a team of AI specialists from the UPC, ‘Engendered Otherness – A symbiotic AI dance ensemble’, brings generative audio, computer vision, and dance together in an audiovisual show that pushes the limits of the human body into new territory thanks to the possibilities of AI.
Mixing programing, robotics, and video techniques to explore concepts of nature, the cosmos, and the laws of physics, their work has been featured and lauded by artists such as Floating Points and festivals such as Ars Electronica.
Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma have been at the forefront of experimental electronic music for over 25 years. Created in collaboration with writer and scholar Louis Chude-Sokei as well as the AI Architecture collective Birds on Mars, at the core of the project is a bespoke software capable of modeling speech, which, operated as an instrument by St.Werner and Toma, adds an extra layer of creativity (and conceptual ambiguity), to the process. The result is a work that questions the very nature of authorship and originality while showcasing the incredible creative potential of AI tools in electronic composition.
Their latest project draws on this rich legacy of experimentation to offer a radical reading of our present creative moment, exploring artificial intelligence as both a narrative framework and compositional tool.
Technology and creativity were absolutely present in the live shows of Tirzah, Koreless, Rakky Ripper, Space Afrika. And the poetry and depth were vibrant in the Live sessions by Mica Levi or Leon Vynehall, which have left us breathless. As always, Sònar brings the future closer, one beat at a time.
Check Sónar website for upcoming events > https://sonar.es
