HOWA EP 97 - HOLLY HERNDON

Holly Herndon is an American composer, musician, and sound artist based in Berlin Germany.After studying composition at Stanford University and completing her Ph.D. at Stanford University's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, she pursued a music career internationally. Herndon's music often includes human singing voices (including her own), is primarily computer-based, and regularly uses the visual programming language Max/MSP to create custom instruments and vocal processes. She has released music on the labels RVNG International. and 4AD. Her most recent full-length album Proto was released on May 10, 2019 which was the first full length record to utilize singing neural networks. She's recently released a way to interact with her digital twin called Holly plus and as of now you can upload polyphonic material to her homepage and receive a version of your recording with Holly plus as the voice for all parts. She is well informed about the most modern issues relating to digital rights that go alongside ideas such as renting your voice as a virtual performance instrument, as opposed to the old school reliance on sampling. There's a complex array of legal challenges on the horizon and most of us are hip to the potential of very convincing deep fakes and such. Will we be able to download the voice of Bob Marley as a kind of VST style instrument ? It seems clear we will and that ownership of these voices is going to be crucial going forward to make the market a free and fair place. For those interested in the cutting edge, Holly is cohost of the podcast Interdependence which covers the people, projects and technologies shaping 21st century culture with a large focus on moving to web3.

In the Nitty I return my piano to the renaissance by having it tuned to a 1/4 comma meantone temperament. I wanted to see how the equal temperament we know so well might stack up in a triadic battle against the old ways. It’s pretty fascinating to me. I hope you’ll get something out the of trip back to 1523 when the meantone would have been dominant.

HOLLY links

Holly+

Other peoples clothes book recommendation

Cathy_Berberian

Lauren newton

LINKS TO MUSIC FROM THE SHOW

Chants

Platzwave

Manor

LINK TO FORUKRAINE

This EP was performed by Rob Burger and sonically crafted by me

all proceeds to the Ukrainian Redcross. Please consider a small donation :)