BotBop was formed in 2019 on special request of Belgian arts center BOZAR in Brussels,
specically to research new artistic directions in music, using state of the art techniques in the field of articial intelligence.

Electronic wind instrument and modular patching acionada Andrew Claes and live coding geek Dago Sondervan were scouted to prepare a special performance in co-production with Ars Electronica. Research engineer Kasper Jordaens joined the team providing further A.I. and Machine Learning technical assistance and BotBop was born.
In this second iteration of the BotBop saga, Dago Sondervan, Andrew Claes and Kasper Jordaens team up again for a new challenge . This time incorporating a classical string quartet as a vehicle for exploring new possibilities in a staggering real time generated, computer assisted live audio-visual performance.

The second iteration of Bot Bop’s exploratory journey into the artistic potential of A.I. will deepen the focus incorporating real-time string arrangement and its visual representation.
Again, live coding expert Dago Sondervan, who uses multiple live coding environments at the same time, and accomplished wind-controller + patching adept Andrew Claes, will team up with Kasper Jordaens, arts R&D engineer. This time creating an interactive environment where improvisation and computer aided composition can overflow.

Continuing development of BotBop’s custom software and implementations using primarily open source software, enables real-time score generation and its extrapolation to individual parts for a string quartet.
A fully real-time generated score will be developed guiding the string quartet, to be further visually manipulated by Jordaens and projected onto a backdrop screen, highlighting what’s generated as well as adding a layer of immersion through graphic art.
The performance will consist of five separate movements, each outlining a specific idea. Different strategies, including euclidean divisions, fibonacci sequences and other mathematical structures, will be used to generate rhythms, whereas A.I. moderated melodic content, based on machine learning algorithms, will be utilised to control adjustments and mutations of the generated ‘compositions’.
A plethora of harmonic systems will be evaluated, mainly inspired by contemporary masters like Bartók and Shostakovich alike, breeding a futuristic hybrid electronic and acoustic esthetic.

Performers on stage will be: Andrew Claes, Dagobert Sondervan, Kasper Jordaens, Pieter Jansen, Herlinde Verjans, Jasmien Van Hauthem, Romek Maniewski-Kelner.

a co-production of Sónar and Bozar