What happens when living systems are given control of machines and synthesizers?

Scott Kildall and Kal Spelletich team up to perform with electronics that capture the hidden signals of bacteria, plants, and crustaceans and transform them into sound and robotic movement in a three-act performance.

The first performance will be Kal's participatory Plant Powered Orchestra, which uses sensors attached to plants to trigger sound machines. Scott will then perform Bacterial Beats, translating live electrical activity from bacteria he collected from the Salton Sea into generative musical compositions. Their finale will be a new collaboration, Micro to Macro, which tracks ostracods (tiny aquatic crustaceans) as they swim across a microscope slide and maps their movements into robotic motion and sound. Finally, a breathalyzer-activated pipe organ at the bar adds a human interactive element to the evening.

Surfing the wake of AI slop, these two longtime San Francisco artists embrace “Natural Intelligence.” The organic world is full of complexity that can best be performed live with electronics.