What Do Machines Sing Of?, hummed anthropomorphism

What-Do-Machines-Sing-Of

Anthropologically we pay a lot of attention to voices, as they are crucial to recognise the presence of a fellow human. And “singing” is even more specific to human, from our perspective. But, especially with famous songs, we might remember them listening even only a few notes, as when some passerby is whistling them. So “What Do Machines Sing Of?” by Martin Backes is attempting to make what we recognise as a computer to “sing.” But it isn’t using synthetic voice software, nor samples of any kind. It’s performing through a kind of synthetic humming, with the lyrics and the volume level shaped as an abstract face expression on a screen. Reminding the seminal “386DX” by net artist Alexei Shulgin, but with a very different setting, it “sings” top chart ballads from the 90s in an endless loop. There’s a screen on the back revealing the running code and waveform in real-time. The project’s hinted anthropomor­phism is clearly affecting the unconscious, still with its machinic aesthetics.

 

What Do Machines Sing Of?, hummed anthropomorphism