About

I am sitting in a machine; is an algorithmic work that begins with a recording of an artificial human voice reciting a text which is then run through an MP3 encoder over and over again. With each iteration of the loop, one may hear the artefacts of the encoding process reinforcing themselves and gradually distorting the artificial human voice by revealing its data format.
The work is a hommage to composer Alvin Lucier’s 1969 piece I Am Sitting in a Room. The work consists of two parts. The first part is a limited edition, 30 unit dubplate vinyl. The second is a web page application distributed via the Internet. In both renderings, there are 32 tracks selected from 3000 successive iterations of the 128 kbps 44.1 kHz MP3 encoding.

I am sitting in a machine; (Web Version)
For machine voice and computer;
2017
Size: variable
Material: screen, computer, custom-made computer program, headphones

Exhibition View

The piece will be exhibited as both, record version (left) and web version (right). Please find more information below.

Real-Time Web Version

Please find the real-time web version of I am sitting in a machine; here: I am sitting in a machine; (Web Version)
Please note: Mobile browsers are not supported. Please use a desktop web browser (the work is optimized for Firefox and Chrome).

Web Development: Brendan Howell and Martin Backes

Dubplate Record Version

As mentioned earlier, the work consists of two parts. One part is the web page application mentioned above. The other part is a limited edition dubplate consisting of 30 units. Please find more information here:
I am sitting in a machine; (Dubplate Record Version)

Blog Entry and personal Notes

You can read some personal notes about what the project is all about right here: Blog entry and personal notes