The Verbal Algorithm Composer-Free Song Generator is an experiment in removing the “writer” from the process of creating a composition. Public participants can translate observations and lived experiences into music by filling out a questionnaire that asks them to assess another artwork or project in the festival. Each answer on the questionnaire corresponds to a loop of music that was created using field recordings made along Market Street prior to the festival. When participants return their surveys to the artist collective, they will instantly assemble a “composer-free” song, generated solely by the boxes on their questionnaires. Participants will go home with a CD of their song: a piece of artwork that incorporates their questionnaire.
Artist Info
Los Angeles-based musicians Fol Chen have released three studio albums of fractured electronic pop, drawing praise from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Wired, and Pitchfork, as well as from the godfather of experimental pop music: David Byrne. Fol Chen have remixed and/or been remixed by David Bowie, Liars, Baths, and legendary club producer Junior Vasquez. They also covered Prince for SPIN’s “Purplish Rain” compilation. The band teamed with electronic interface designers Monome on a limited edition gestural sound toy, and have presented projects at LACMA, the Walker Art Center, Machine Project, and the Annenberg Space for Photography.
folchen.com