Agency and Control in Musical Ensemble
Summary
The project investigates where creative agency is located when neither human nor machine ever perceives the complete musical composition. A work is constructed from an ensemble of agents that never interact directly — one shapes rhythm, another timbre, a third the overall structure, and a fourth, a digital signal-processing layer, determines acoustic feasibility. An additional, often unacknowledged contributor is introduced: using RITMO’s Oslo Standstill recordings of individuals attempting, yet failing, to stand still during musical playback, the involuntary micro-movements of audience members’ bodies generate the rhythmic foundation, allowing the audience to contribute to the composition prior to experiencing it. The project quantitatively assesses the proportion of the final work attributable to these absent bodies, to each machine agent, and to their collective interaction, aiming for a publication in the NeurIPS Creative AI Track.
Work Package
Primary WP: WP7
Duration
2026
People
- Project leader: Ali Ramezani-Kebrya
- Participants: Anna-Maria Christodoulou, Cagri Erdem, Ivar Grydeland, Alexander Refsum Jensenius