The November issue of Wired UK is devoted to the M.I.T. Media Lab. Fun to see so many friends and colleagues profiled in it! The article on Tod Machover provides a grand sweep of his career, from Tod’s first encounter with the 4X synthesizer at IRCAM to his current work on “A Toronto Symphony” and explorations into personal music and the effects of vocal vibrations on the human mind and body. To quote:
There are all kinds of things we haven’t even begun to imagine that will be valuable in music. There’ll always be a place for the perfectly crafted song, the definitive performance. But a large part of music is going to be some kind of collaboration. Up until today, we judged music by how a combination of sounds appeals to the most number of people. One of the most important new branches is going to be to personalise music so that there is maximum impact for you, your genetics, your physiology, your psychology. Depending on how you’re feeling, it plays differently. It may play on its own, but I also think there’s going to be a role in between the basic music materials and the listener — somebody in the middle fine-tuning it.
Read the full article: Tod Machover invents instruments, robot operas –- oh, and Guitar Hero
Opera of the Future 