As part of the OdeGant festival in Ghent, Belgium.
Inspired by James Bridle’s book *Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence* (2022), the piece explores different forms of expression of intelligence, logic, and (musical) structures. What does it mean to be human in a world where other forms of intelligence also exist? Audiovisual artist and composer Zeno van den Broek poses this question at a time when artificial intelligence is evolving at breakneck speed. His latest work, *Ways of [ ]*, is more urgent than ever. In this work, Van den Broek brings humans and machines together in a unique musical and visual experience. He composed this piece for two leading musical ensembles—the Dutch company HIIIT and the Percussions de Strasbourg—and four digital entities: autonomous percussion machines that play while reacting in real time to the sound of human percussionists. To musically train these digital entities, Van den Broek used rhythms and sound effects drawn from our industrial history (steam engines, looms, and other mechanical systems). In this way, the entities learn—just like humans—both from their predecessors and from the musical environment in which they operate. Ways of [ ] is an audiovisual composition that showcases a new form of shared intelligence. We see and hear entities and humans gradually learning to understand one another: hesitant at first, then increasingly cooperative. Across three largely improvised sections, the musicians discover their own voices and eventually find a common musical language.
With Ways of [ ], Van den Broek invites the audience to reflect on what intelligence truly is—and what it means to be human.
Co-production: Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, HIIIT, Les Percussions de Strasbourg
Composition, concept: Zeno van den Broek
Performers: Youjin Lee, François Papirer, Yi-Ping Yang (Les Percussions de Strasbourg), Jonathan Bonny, Ryoko Imai, Kalina Vladovska (HIIIT)
⏰ Concert at 8:00 p.m.
🎫 Tickets and information here.
👉 Find all the details about Ways of [ ] here.
👉 More information on the HIIIT company’s website.