The winding paths of rivers turned into music, each piece resonating with its visual world.
Our Role Sound Concept, Music Composition & Production, Programming, Machine Learning Environment, Mix & Master, On-site Implementation // Creative Direction, Production, Code & Design, Research onformative // Hardware Provider ICT AG Berlin // Year 2018
In an early artistic encounter with artificial intelligence, we explored how machine learning could act as a compositional partner—translating natural movement into sound. This exploration took shape in Meandering River, created in collaboration with onformative, where the behaviour of rivers becomes an evolving dialogue between algorithmic visuals and AI-composed music that flows seamlessly across multiple LED screens.
To build the compositional system, pianists first improvised to the river’s visual movements, forming the dataset from which the AI learned.
Like the water it portrayed, the system meandered between these improvisations, shaping a distinct musical style for each visual world. The resulting compositions intertwine human intuition, algorithmic motion, and the data of the river itself—each scene a confluence of nature, code, and sound.
