Relatum, by Zeno van den Broek, HIIIT, Gagi Petrovic & Machines

Relatum by Zeno van den Broek, HIIIT, Gagi Petrovic & Machines, released 13 September 2024 1. Zeno van den Broek & HIIIT - MA(N|CHINE) - Movement one: System 2. Zeno van den Broek & HIIIT - MA(N|CHINE) - Movement two: Mimicry 3. Zeno van den Broek & HIIIT - MA(N|CHINE) - Movement three: Sync 4. Zeno van den Broek & Gagi Petrovic - From Voice To Pulse Relatum features two compositions revolving around the relationship and interplay between the human and the algorithmic, bringing together musicians and artificial performers. MA(N|CHINE) with HIIIT (formerly know as Slagwerk Den Haag) is a composition for seven performers: four of flesh and blood and three of aluminium and copper wire. Through its three movements various interconnections between the players are explored. In the first movement an algorithmic system of electronics takes centre stage, devoid of any human intervention. Engagement by human performers with the electronic system and manipulation thereof by physically interacting with the bass drums and imitating the machine patterns, is brought to the fore in the second part. Movement three starts with a total synchronisation of all performers. This ‘sync’ shifts between an array of variations and relations, slowly evolving from ‘sync’ to ‘freedom’, allowing human performers more improvisational space while the machines assume a supportive role. From Voice to Pulse shines new light on one of the oldest forms of music: the combination of voice and percussion. The piece takes shape in a partly algorithmic composition for percussion, performed by custom robotics, and for voice, performed by a human. The text as performed by Gagi Petrovic is written by the GPT-2 open-source artificial intelligence. This AI was trained on ‘Species of Spaces’ by Georges Perec and various Wikipedia pages on spatial perception. This process results in new and uncanny perspectives on the relationship between individuals and the (digital) spaces they inhabit, while simultaneously exploring new relationships between the binary character of the acoustic pulses and the expression of a digitally manipulated voice.