Quentin Maxwell-Jackson, an active member of several Making Music groups, is a filmmaker looking for vocal and instrumental groups to volunteer to be...
A collaborative project between artists Holly Hendon and Mat Dryhurst: ‘The Call’ uses AI to merge recordings of 15 community choirs into a unified 'single voice' composition.
Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst delve into the possibilities of AI (artificial intelligence) as a collaborative tool for music creation in their latest exhibition, 'The Call', currently on display at the Serpentine North Gallery until 2 February 2025. Blending art, technology, and tradition, the exhibition reimagines how we create music and interact with machines.
At the heart of the exhibition is the concept of AI as a 'coordinating technology' – a system that shapes and guides human actions. Herndon and Dryhurst drew inspiration from the UK’s rich choral tradition, focusing on how the rituals and protocols of collective singing foster communication and shared meaning. The exhibition poses a fascinating question: 'What rituals and protocols emerge when music-making involves AI?'
The artists found that AI itself relies on its own set of 'rituals'—the processes of training, data collection, and programming. To explore this, they travelled across the UK, collaborating with choirs to record their performances of original songs. These recordings formed the training data for the AI models used to generate new compositions.
Out of 15 total choirs, 11 Making Music member groups participated in the project:
- Blackburn People’s Choir
- Carnoustie Choir
- Cunninghame Choir
- The Fourth Choir
- Leeds Vocal Movement
- Musarc
- New London Chamber Choir
- Ordsall Acappella Singers
- Ravenswood Singers
- South Lakes ACappella
- Spectrum Singers
Check out the full list of choirs involved.
Through this process, ‘The Call’ examines the ethical and legal dilemmas surrounding AI in the arts:
'Is it fair to use existing music as training data? How accurately can AI translate the complexities of human emotion and creativity? And ultimately, in a world where AI takes an active role in creation, what does it mean to be human?'
The exhibition itself is as thought-provoking as the questions it raises. It is beautiful, haunting, and deeply challenging. 'The Call' invites visitors to grapple with the blurred lines between human and machine. Where, it asks, does humanity reside in this increasingly AI-driven creative landscape?
