Sonica Artist Talk Truce

Join us for a talk from artists Robin Meier and Ali Momeni, and find out more about their Sonica piece Truce.

An inspiring phenomenon was observed from a seminal research on mosquitoes from the University of Greenwich: to find a partner of the right species type, male and female mosquitoes rely on their ability to “sing” in tune.

Truce is an interactive sound installation exploring the reciprocal musical interactions between the mosquito and the computer. When male mosquitoes change their buzzing frequency to synchronise and match that of a female mosquito, this enhances the mosquitoes’ ability to copulate mid-flight. Truce takes advantage of this natural yet interesting behaviour to engage the mosquitoes in song, inspired by the North Indian classical vocal tradition of Dhrupad.

As part of the sound installation, the computer produces a stimulus signal to which the living mosquitoes synchronise. Subsequently, the computer sings a third voice that responds to the musical inflections of the mosquitoes’ buzz. These three voices come in and out of harmony depending on the mosquitoes’ propensity to maintain its sync with the stimulus signal.

Each mosquito is equipped with a loud-speaker for providing the stimulus signal, a sensitive microphone for picking up the mosquitoes’ buzz, a camera for giving us a closer look at the insect, a kinetic component that allows the mosquitoes to rest every few minutes and a light bulb that shows the mosquitoes’ activity.

Robin Meier is a Swiss artist and composer living in France. His interests lie in the emergence of natural and artificial intelligence and the role of humans in a world of machines. Meier tries to make sense of these questions through musical compositions and installations. Referred to as “Artist of the future” (le Monde), “Vuvuzela of contemporary art” (Liberation) or “pathetic” (Vimeo) his works are shown around the globe, most recently at the Palais de Tokyo and the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, SIGGRAPH in Yokohama, Japan and the Auditorio Nacional de Musica in Madrid.

Ali Momeni is into dynamic systems and moving targets; he works with kinetics, electronics, software, sound, light, people, plants and animals. His creative output ranges from sculptures and installations, to urban interventions and music theater performance.
Momeni was born in Isfahan, Iran and emigrated to the United States at the age of twelve. He studied physics and music at Swarthmore College and completed his doctoral degree in music composition, improvisation and performance with computers from the Center for New Music and Audio Technologies in UC Berkeley.

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