Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst

Holly Herndon is an American artist and composer currently based in Berlin. She operates at the intersection of electronic and avant-garde music, forging her unique and disruptive style. Her academic background includes studies in composition from Stanford University before receiving her Ph.D. from Stanford's University Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics. Her music often incorporates vocals, including her own and is predominantly computer-based. Herndon utilizes visual programming languages and neural networks to create custom instruments and vocal processes. Her music has been released on renowned labels such as RVNG Intl. and 4AD. Beyond her solo work, Herndon has collaborated with notable artists and entities such as writer Reza Negarestani, producer Jlin and design studio Metahaven. Herndon's compositions and soundscapes challenge and transcend conventional categorizations, blurring the boundary between the digital and the human. With her extensive expertise in vocal processing techniques and proprietary digital instruments, she creates immersive and thought-provoking pieces that defy traditional distinctions.

Mat Dryhurst is an artist and thinker whose work spans music, technology, art, philosophy, and activism, embracing a "medium-agnostic" approach. Collaborating often with his partner, Holly Herndon, he has contributed to record labels like PAN and Southern Records. He developed Saga, a self-hosting publishing framework, and serves on the board of the streaming collective Resonate. His broad interests have recently focused on exploring the potential forms of human community in the age of informatic capitalism, the capabilities and limitations of machine learning.

Herndon and Dryhurst believe the changes that Al will bring will radically transform the creative landscape, allowing anyone to easily generate art and music from Al tools trained on the work or likeness of existing creators. Their ongoing collaborative career has led them to explore the frontiers of art and technology, AI, machine learning and blockchain systems.