Description
In Western culture, voice without speech is irrational and dangerous. Both in myth and history, those voices must be contained or prohibited because of the threat they pose to the social order. Female, animal, artificial and inanimate voices, lamenting, screaming, dreaming, mumbling. Fugitive voices, entangled in a parallel ‘nonhuman history’ devise a chorus yet to come.
Future Chorus is based on a collection of readings, spoken word, nonlinguistic sound, poetry, MCing, cello and animal sounds — made by Abbas Zahedi, AGF, Elaine Mitchener, Eleni Ikoniadou, Jordan Edge, Joshua Leon, Lunatraktors, Ruth McGill, Sukitoa O Namau and Viki Steiri. The material was combined with machine learning processes — by Mohab Tarek — for the artificial generation of a new voice speaking a nonhuman language. The vocal database and AI voice became the raw material for five remixes — by AGF, Chino Amobi, Harrga, Savvas Metaxas, Trustfall and Lafawndah.
This release is a collaboration between Hypermedium and MAENADS. A perpetually growing collective, MAENADS is a platform sonic, visual, performative or text-based projects, unleashing works that seek to inhabit polyphonic narratives, other worlds and subjectivities, group joy.
credits
released January 20, 2023
Concept & curation: Eleni Ikoniadou
Human voices: Abbas Zahedi, AGF, Elaine Mitchener, Eleni Ikoniadou, Jordan Edge, Joshua Leon, Lunatraktors, Ruth McGill
Animal lament: Sukitoa O Namau
Cello: Viki Steiri
AI voice: Mohab Tarek
Mastered by: Giuseppe Ielasi
Art direction & design: Vasilis Marmatakis
Cover photography: Panos Defteraios