Gilles Aubry

L’MAKINA

• Gilles Aubry — Field Recordings, Electronics

Aubry’s composition “L’Makina” is a haunting soundscape that combines AI-generated sound textures with modular synths. Structured in two parts, the piece explores the spectral possibilities of a virtual sound model developed using a machine learning algorithm, in collaboration with Moroccan musicians Ali Faiq and Idr Basrou. The title, L’Makina, references a 1930s song about the phonograph by Amazigh musician L’Haj Belaid. In the original song, Belaid marvels at the machine’s ability to replicate human speech with uncanny precision, prompting the poet to question whether he should continue composing verses. This reflection resonates with current debates surrounding artificial intelligence and the interplay between humans and machines.

The composition features sounds created with a machine learning algorithm for timbral analysis (RAVE), using rwais instrument recordings as input data. The work prompts questions about artificial intelligence as a non-human entity in co-creative processes. It also underscores the limitations of a technology that has yet to fully comprehend essential aspects of human expression, such as the social function of music and ethical transmission of information.

— Coming soon…