Biophilia

Program Notes

biophilia (n) — a human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature: a desire or tendency to commune with nature.

There is something soothing about the sound of birds singing in the spring, or the sighing of wind between the leaves of a hundred trees. There is something frightening about the growling of a predator in the shadows.

All sounds of the piece are created using digital synthesizers, particularly Serum. I found it an interesting experience analyzing the details of birdsong, insect chirps, wind, and rain to reconstruct them with synthesizers. It's surprising that most of those sounds are relatively simple to recreate. Parameters for the synths are then triggered or modulated by the movements of the dancer using Max and MediaPipe for AI motion detection and tracking.

What I find interesting about this piece is the juxtaposition between the sounds of nature, the synthetic DNA of the sounds themselves, and the use of AI in the marrying of those worlds.

This piece was premiered by Sejal Janaswamy on December 8th, 2024. It was also selected to be featured at the AlgoRhythms World Music Conference in March 2025.