In Sunday’s (4/24) Los Angeles Times, Deborah Vankin writes, “Ajay Kapur and Michael Darling have glimpsed the future. And it looks a little like ‘The Jetsons’ meets ‘Spinal Tap.’ In the not-too-distant future, they say, stadium concerts as we know them will be passé. In their place, humans will jam onstage with hipster robots that will perform previously unheard sounds during mind-blowing multimedia shows that are three-dimensional, interactive soundscapes. … Year 2015? 2050? The robotics instructors say more like two weeks from now. Kapur and Darling, head of California Institute of the Arts’ music technology and theatrical technical direction departments, respectively, have combined students and teaching resources to create a cutting-edge robot orchestra programmed for improvisation to jam with humans. The futuristic endeavor—called KarmetiK Machine Orchestra (after karma and kinetic)—combines elements of artificial intelligence/robotics, electronic music and theater. It features nine ‘robot instruments,’ designed and built by students who play with them via customized computerized interfaces. The orchestra will perform a mix of world fusion, modern electronic, experimental, groove-oriented beats and Indian classical music during an immersive audio-visual installation concert on May 12.”
Posted April 25, 2011
