The festival of music ideas
We’re just a week away from #MTFCentral in Ljubljana. Looking forward to seeing you there. If you’re wondering what to expect, we’ve put together a taste of the festival in this highlights video.
Of course, that’s not what you’ll see at #MTFCentral next week. That’s just a small sample of what happened at the last few Music Tech Fests in Berlin, Paris, London and Umeå.
In addition to the 24-hour hack camp and the research symposium, this is what you can expect on the main festival stage at Cankarjev Dom next weekend.
FRIDAY: THE SCIENCE OF MUSIC, THE MUSIC OF SCIENCE:
4pm: The Science of Music
Experimentation is at the heart of music’s progress - not just in terms of what it can sound like, but also how it can be used. The scientists of music are producers, hackers, craftspeople, therapists, composers, teachers and industry innovators. From the hospital to the internet, and from wearable musical instruments to the reinvention of classical music - this session investigates new ways of thinking, alternative uses and new experiments in the science of music.
FEATURING: Simon Penšek, Elio Icaza Milson, Blaž Erzetič, JMZM collective, Roey Tsemah (Whitestone), Leonid Imennykh, Vincent Favrat (Musimap) and Ann Rosén / Sten-Olof Hellström
6pm: The Music of Science
Data becomes art. Physical processes and reactions create sound. Equations create rhythms. The worlds of physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology combine in the mind of the computer to create sonic artwork and musical experiences unlike any we have known before.
FEATURING: Joanna Alpe / Luka Topolovec / Tine Postuvan (Makelight United), Andrea Santini, Robertina Šebjanič / Aleš Hieng Zergon, Matevž Pesek / Luka Zakrajšek / Manca Žerovnik, Adam John Williams, Peter Sciri / Alexander Wankhammer (Sonible) and Rolf Gehlhaar
8pm: Strange Dreams
Music’s greatest power is on the subconscious mind. Through cinematic immersion, giant controllers and underground currents of molten rock, we explore the collapse of the imaginary barriers between artist and audience, performance and space, dream and reality.
FEATURING: Leonardo Gabrielli / Paolo Bragaglia, Luka Prinčič, Håkan Lidbo, Brane Zorman and Uzvočevalci
SATURDAY: PERFORMANCE CYBORGS:
2pm: The Creator’s Laboratory
A look into the experimental laboratory, where ingenious minds tinker in basements and breathe life into found objects and affordable electronics. Discover new uses for 8-bit lo-fi technologies and join the quest for pioneering noise machines fashioned from as much recycled material as possible.
FEATURING: Matej Rodela (Trobla), Damir Prizmić / Igor Brkić, Daniel Zuvela (Maltempo effects), Slavko Glamočanin (Naprave), Sonda3, Tom Fox (Vulpestruments) and Matt Black (Ninja Tune)
4pm: Performance Cyborgs
The boundary between science fiction and social reality is an optical illusion. This session takes the intangible and ephemeral world of music and makes it physical: a tactile and gestural phenomenon. The body becomes the musical instrument and we manipulate sound in space like a malleable, three-dimensional object in the air.
FEATURING: Sebastian Lexer, Cirkulacija 2, Jamie Bullock (Integra Lab), Antonio Križnič (Ableton), Harshside, Giorgio Klauer and Rob Canning
6pm: Technology Mutants
We shape our tools, and they, in turn, shape us. We recycle machines and hybridise instruments, manipulate memory, interpret data and transform ourselves through musical expression. We are what we create.
FEATURING: Yoshihito Nakanishi , Tadej Droljc, Dušan Zidar, Alexander Grigoryev, Miha Mohorčič / Karmen Gostiša and Chris Reilly
8pm: GUNK: Geek Punk
Technology is not sterile. It’s messy, rough and ready. It’s about immediacy of expression. Get your hands dirty, pull something apart, make new noises, form a band. Geek punks, electro legends and music hackers join forces to tear up the stage. No future? No - this IS the future.
FEATURING: Eden Grey, Theremidi Orchestra, Nina Farič, MMessy Oscillators and Graham Massey (808 State)
SUNDAY: #MTFLaunchpad:
2pm: #MTFLaunchpad
Introducing the inventors of the future: children enter the world of music technology through coding and making; barriers to participation in music are removed with instruments accessible to people with disabilities; intuition is enhanced through collaboration and new musical possibilities.
FEATURING: Tamara Friebel (The Collaborative Mind), Claire-Gillian Watt, Benjaman Schogler (Skoog), Vahakn Matossian (Human Instruments), Stephen Hetherington (OHMI Trust) and Phil Heeley (Inclusive Music)
4pm: #MusicBricks
8 new startups and over half a million on social reach after just 6 months: #MusicBricks is a toolkit of some of the best music technologies coming out of EU research centres that allow creators, developers and digital content makers easy access to core building blocks of music. At #MTFCentral we exclusively reveal the innovative prototypes from the first round of #MusicBricks incubation.
FEATURING: High Note, Sound in Translation, Airstrument, Enboard, #FindingSomethingBondingSounding, eear, Dolphin and Interactive Cube
6pm: #MTFHacks
Your first chance to see the inventions and designs by creative developers using some great new technologies including #MusicBricks, a compendium of both physical and virtual interfaces and APIs, exclusively available at #MTFCentral. From new types of physical interfaces and performances to software projects and startups. Every completed hack will be demonstrated and the winners will be announced on stage.
8pm: #MTFSessions
World famous artists perform with emerging local artists, using new musical instruments and in entirely new collaborative contexts. It’s not just an experimental, improvisational session featuring some of the finest artists in the world of music technology - it’s also a jam session and a party.
FEATURING: Phil Heeley (Inclusive Music), Run Dreamer, Namosh, Matt Black (Coldcut), Reeps One, and many more.