Before the Red
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Before the Red is an interactive audiovisual work that aims to capture the flow of time and the intangibility of emotions, using AI algorithms to construct intricate sensory scenes. In the unpredictable changes, in the tense soundscape, on the border of the red limit, from faint whispers to fierce confrontations, through limited time to reach the boundless sound field.
This work features double bass and glitch timbres, some generated by transforming double bass recordings through the neural network model by autoencoder. The core of the sound design lies in the interplay between extended instrumental traditional techniques and electronic textures, creating sharp contrasts and dynamic fusion. Rather than deforming acoustic sounds through live processing, the work emphasizes the expressive potential of the real instrument itself, taking the audience from the tangible reality to the abstract sound world.
The control route of this work is gesture control sound, and sound control vision. By measuring the performer’s electromyographic signals, it allows for a wider range of expressive possibilities. A machine learning model is used to learn the performer’s gesture data, providing the performer with a flexible interactive system that can be controlled by himself. Separating gesture control from traditional playing helps to clearly present two distinct ways of expression.
I have been dedicated to exploring the practice of digital audio and AI in music composition, and collaborating with performers to search for more possibilities in technological performance environments. In Before the Red, the multiple interactions closely connect gesture, audition and vision.
Before the Red is an interactive audiovisual work that aims to capture the flow of time and the intangibility of emotions, using AI algorithms to construct intricate sensory scenes. In the unpredictable changes, in the tense soundscape, on the border of the red limit, from faint whispers to fierce confrontations, through limited time to reach the boundless sound field.
This work features double bass and glitch timbres, some generated by transforming double bass recordings through the neural network model by autoencoder. The core of the sound design lies in the interplay between extended instrumental traditional techniques and electronic textures, creating sharp contrasts and dynamic fusion. Rather than deforming acoustic sounds through live processing, the work emphasizes the expressive potential of the real instrument itself, taking the audience from the tangible reality to the abstract sound world.
The control route of this work is gesture control sound, and sound control vision. By measuring the performer’s electromyographic signals, it allows for a wider range of expressive possibilities. A machine learning model is used to learn the performer’s gesture data, providing the performer with a flexible interactive system that can be controlled by himself. Separating gesture control from traditional playing helps to clearly present two distinct ways of expression.
I have been dedicated to exploring the practice of digital audio and AI in music composition, and collaborating with performers to search for more possibilities in technological performance environments. In Before the Red, the multiple interactions closely connect gesture, audition and vision.
Composition & interaction design: Yixuan Zhao
Audiovisual design: Qi Shuang
Algorithm design: Yi Shi
Double bass: Hanjui Chen
With support from: Central Conservatory of Music
Yixuan Zhao (CN) is a composer, a lecturer at the Electronic Music Center, Department of Music AI and Music Information Technology, Central Conservatory of Music, China, and a visiting researcher at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, UK. Her composition focuses on interactive music, electroacoustic music, contemporary music, and new media art, and her works have won numerous awards and been performed in many international conferences and concerts, including NIME, ICMC, TiMP, Journées d'Informatique Musicale, IRCAM Forum, China-UK International Music Festival, Nottingham New Music Festival, MUSICACOUSTICA-BEIJING, Summit on Music Intelligence, Beijing Youth Arts Festival, WOCMAT Taiwan, etc.
Yixuan Zhao (CN) is a composer, a lecturer at the Electronic Music Center, Department of Music AI and Music Information Technology, Central Conservatory of Music, China, and a visiting researcher at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, UK. Her composition focuses on interactive music, electroacoustic music, contemporary music, and new media art, and her works have won numerous awards and been performed in many international conferences and concerts, including NIME, ICMC, TiMP, Journées d'Informatique Musicale, IRCAM Forum, China-UK International Music Festival, Nottingham New Music Festival, MUSICACOUSTICA-BEIJING, Summit on Music Intelligence, Beijing Youth Arts Festival, WOCMAT Taiwan, etc.
The jury found Before the Red to be an impressive example of how a solo acoustic instrument (double bass) and its specific performance techniques can be combined with modern AI, gesture recognition, live electronics, and generative visualization. Exploring the symbiosis between a self-trained AI system, contemporary musical performance, and audiovisual artistic expression, the project articulates novel forms of artistic practice that emerge from the interplay of these domains. The jury valued the thoughtful integration of technological innovation with traditional craftsmanship, expanding the expressive possibilities of contemporary classical music and creating a rich, multilayered artistic experience.
The jury found Before the Red to be an impressive example of how a solo acoustic instrument (double bass) and its specific performance techniques can be combined with modern AI, gesture recognition, live electronics, and generative visualization. Exploring the symbiosis between a self-trained AI system, contemporary musical performance, and audiovisual artistic expression, the project articulates novel forms of artistic practice that emerge from the interplay of these domains. The jury valued the thoughtful integration of technological innovation with traditional craftsmanship, expanding the expressive possibilities of contemporary classical music and creating a rich, multilayered artistic experience.