The Age of Spiritual Machines
How does our relationship with technology shape our relationship to art?
The Age of Spiritual Machines was commissioned by Royal Philharmonic Society’s Drummond Lockyer Fund for Dance and was Daniel’s first time working with a choreographer (Alexander Whitley).
Daniel and Alexander sought to explore their shared interest in the philosophy of transhumanism and the capacity for technology to shape our art, and therefore, our identity.
Musically, the work explores the solace found within the inhumanity and unquestioning nature of generative music systems. There is a freedom to be found outside of the boundaries of human interaction, a comfort in exploring musical ideas without expectation.
Electronic music systems adapt and develop based on user inputs, ‘giving back’ and ‘responding’ to the user in a way that is both introspective and relational.
The pitch and rhythmical content of the piece is derived from field recordings of the hidden frequencies of electronic and robotic devices.
Made using a contact microphone, these devices exposed a secret world of sound that is all around – machine-made – but imperceptible to us without the assistance of technology.
Both Daniel and Alexander have then stripped away the technological components used to create the form of the work, leaving a freestanding musical structure. The soft tissue of movement and music is revealed beneath, irreversibly altered by its past interactions with electronic and mechanical devices.
Live cello and violin are electronically processed, sustaining the tension between natural and artificial. The tightly-focused score is reflected in the movement of dance artists Hannah Rudd (Michael Clark Company, Scottish Ballet, Rambert) and Jonathan Savage (Rambert, Göteborgs Operans Danskompani) with lighting by Sarah Ward.