RM Francis: An Experimental Music Performance in Surround Sound
About the event
The Digital Audio Collective presents an experimental computer music performance by RM Francis on Friday March 21 at 7pm at the WSU Planetarium. This 4-channel (surround sound) audio work consists of sound and language generated by AI and machine learning/listening technologies. The event is free, all-ages and open to the public thanks to support from the David G. Pollart Center for Arts and Humanities, the WSU Libraries, and the WSU Department of Physics and Astronomy. Please note that seating is limited and admission is granted on a first come, first serve basis.
RM Francis’ current work exploits discrepancies between human and artificial auditory systems in order to translate musical sound into language, producing a libretto founded on phonetic imitation and musical repetition rather than logical coherence. This musical script is then sung or spoken by a virtual ensemble of computer-generated voices.Listeners are invited to an immersive audio experience in which an uncanny virtual choir merges both realistic speech and abstract sound.Returning from recent US and European tours, he will present his piece, approximately 30-40 minutes in length, at the WSU Planetarium to harness the space’s unique acoustics.
RM Francis will also deliver an artist talk during the day of the performance in the WSU Libraries Terrell Atrium at 3pm. The talk will feature a demonstration of his machine listening process and provide some historical context around his work.
About the DAC:
The Digital Audio Collective (DAC) is an RSO that facilitates an inclusive environment for students to find collaborative opportunities, share information, and support each other in the creation of audio-based projects. The DAC presented the ‘Music for Observations’ series at WSU’s Jewett Observatory in Summer and Fall of 2024 and more recently an appearance at the “Get Involved Fair” in January 2025. On Thursday, April 3rd the group will perform their first large-scale concert in the WSU Libraries Terrell Atrium, featuring a dozen members presenting their music.
Artist Bio:
RM Francis is an artist based in Seattle working with computer-generated sound and language via recording, installation, and performance. His practice foregrounds computation-based compositional strategies, focusing on methods that exploit discrepancies between human and artificial auditory systems. His current work exploits latent phonological data extracted from non-linguistic sound in order to generate the tonal, rhythmic, and semantic content of synthesized speech. The resulting asubjective narration articulates the potentialities of speech decoupled from embodied human expression, navigating between abstract sound and uncanny characterological specificity.
His oeuvre spans multimedia work incorporating sound, video, performance, and chocolate (Hyperplastic Other, 2017), investigations of historical computer synthesis methods (A Taxonomy of Guffaws, 2020), procedural text works for a chorus of synthetic voices (Every Single Person Has Some Muscle, 2022), and hallucinatory duets between dictation apps and deep learning networks (pedimos un mensaje, 2023). His most recent work, H E L L O After-Person, will be released in March 2025 on etat.xyz. In addition to his solo projects, in recent years he has collaborated with Jack Callahan & Jeff Witscher, Jung An Tagen, and farmersmanual, among others.
More info:
RM Francis website
RM Francis March 21 webpage
Digital Audio Collective (DAC) Presence webpage
