The Age of Spiritual Machines
A work for cello, violin, electronics and two dancers created in collaboration with composer Daniel Elms and Manchester Collective.
Exploring the philosophy of transhumanism, which seeks to enhance the capabilities of the body using technology, both artists have stripped away the technological components that they regularly employ in their work. The soft tissue of movement and music is revealed beneath, irreversibly altered by its past interactions with electronic and mechanical devices.
Alexander’s dancers embody principles of machine intelligence; their movements and relationship to each other informed by the way technology, rather than the human gaze, sees the world.
The sources for Daniel’s tempo, rhythms and harmony derive from his recordings of the hidden frequencies of electronic devices, made with a coil microphone. Once they had been used to create the form of the work, these sounds were removed to leave a freestanding musical structure. Live cello and violin are electronically processed, sustaining the tension between natural and artificial.
The tightly-focused score is reflected in the movement of dance artists Hannah Rudd and Jonathan Savage. The Age of Spiritual Machines will open the programme on selected dates in Manchester Collective’s Neon tour, alongside works by Hannah Peel, Lyra Pramuk, Julius Eastman and Steve Reich.
