SOLO DUO is a complex and playful musical system at the forefront of contemporary improvised, experimental and electronic music: One clarinet player (Christian Müller) and one musical entity (The Cone), equipped with an extensive archive of analogue synthesizer samples, algorithmic composition codes as well as sensors, moods and interdependencies. The music robot is programmed to be non-programmatic: it can react to the acoustic play, but it might as well do something entirely different, based on how it feels and on it’s own plan, the hidden agenda. SOLO DUO is a visually intriguing and musically piece about taking risks, focusing on creativity, creation and productive glitches in the realm of code, composition and collaboration.

“It’s important that the robot is able to surprise us in ways that neither random processes nor deterministic compositions in isolation are capable of. This is why the concept of a robot mood is so important. It’s an intentionally overcomplicated system that’s obfuscated by esoteric language and influenced by disparate factors effecting nearly every decision the robot makes. The idea wasn’t to make a system to play tape pieces or to act as a really sweet pedal, but rather to cobble together several music making systems governed by compositional choices made by Christian and spur of the moment decisions made by the robot. In that way, it functions more like an extremely unruly musical partner.“ (Michael Carter)

SOLO DUO furthers Christian’s long-standing interest in challenging the boundaries of electroacoustic music and the use of unstable electronic systems. The piece builds on two decades of experience in the fields of improvisation, conceptual music, composition and work with electronic instruments. It’s at the same time rough and highly complex. It’s not an shiny high-tech and AI-system, but a musical experiment and an artistic research project questioning artificial creativity.