Music Tech Fest - Festival of Ideas

AI, gestural interfaces, mind-controlled music, robotics, blockchain and more are all in the mix in September, and MTF features 50% Women - with ‘Women in the Lead’ of all technology areas.

At the last Music Tech Fest - in Berlin - the Collaborations, Labs, Performances and Hacks were gound-breaking and memorable. In typical MTF style, creative connections were made that lasted after the event, and people went on to win prizes for their work.

MTF is a 7,000-strong global community of innovators, and when they get together sparks - quite literally - fly. There is no better place to be to get inspired by new ideas, sounds, and people, whether you are a musician, technologist, industry person or curious audience member.

Originating 6 years ago in London, this annual “festival of ideas”, and research symposium, brings together a diverse collection of innovators for a week-long programme of experimental labs, work-shops, hacks, performances and exhibitions.

The festival is partnering with KTH to take advantage of its strong research ecosystem – as well as its commitment to gender equality. Sigbritt Karlsson, President of KTH, says: “This is a wonderful way to express our institution’s motto, ‘Vetenskap och Konst (Science and Art).’”

With leaders in music technology, science, art, design and technology, including Grammy-award winning recording artist and producer Imogen Heap, the “creative playground” atmosphere aims toward serious results – meaningful, durable and accessible innovations in music technologies, as well as practices and policies that guard against the exploitation of artists, among other goals.

Music, Tech, Art and Science

Music Tech Fest founder, and 2017 EU Women Innovators Prize-winner, Michela Magas, says that MTF’s crossover between art and science has influenced policy at the highest level. Over the past five years its methodologies have been translated directly into innovation recommendations for research and industry for the European Commission and the G7 leaders.

Among participants are over 150 researchers and students from KTH, and many more from Swedish universities and organisations, including KTH Robotics Professor Danica Kragic who will lead AI and Robotics in the #MTFLabs.

Fashion tech pioneer Anouk Wipprecht, NASA scientist Kelly Snook, and designer and wearable technologist Ricardo O’Nascimento are all playing key roles in the event.

Kitmonsters contributor, and electronic artist and composer Portrait XO leads the Playground - a space where festival attendees can explore and experience music technologies - from a fully-working vintage analogue multitrack recording studio to the latest synths and musical instrument interfaces. Portrait won the grand prize for top Augmented Reality project at USC’s Creating Reality hackathon and presented and performed at the recent Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Acclaimed Vulpestruments and Hackoustic founder Tom Fox (another of our contributors) is co-running the MTF Hack Camp along with LJ Rich. The results are sure to amaze. At the last MTF Tom and team got together with Mercury Prize nominee Eska and were Hack Camp winners. His Hackoustic events have featured at Tate Modern and other leading cultural institutions, and he regularly runs events in London.

Stockholm is MTF’s 14th international event. The nomadic festival has been hosted in major cities all over the world, including London, Paris, Boston, Wellington, and of course Berlin. This edition is the first in what will be an annual series of flagship Stockholm events, supported by satellite events in other global locations throughout the year.

Another new element is a series of special spaces for getting hands on with technologies and ideas.

New for Stockholm - Nine spaces

EXPERIENCE FLOOR
Immersive real and virtual environments, including VR and streaming from major world orchestras, sonified cities, Imogen Heap’s Mycelia experiences, and the Swedish Music Tech Toolkit.

PROFESSIONALS FLOOR
Special pro areas including the JAZZIZ Lounge with exclusive guests in conversation and high end gear, the Music Tech City of the Year Awards, and a VIP lounge with exclusive content.

FAMILY FLOOR
A whole weekend of family fun with Robyn’s Tekla girls hack, special session with Imogen Heap’s MiMu gloves for kids, music making workshops with the Electronic School Concert and lots of play in the Sparks family space.

SHOWCASE FLOOR
Back to back demos and performances on the innovation stage showcasing the latest inventions, and a Playground area with the coolest new and vintage music tech gear you can get your hands on.

INNOVATION FLOOR
The space for thinking out loud with tangible instruments, meet hackers and creatives from all areas of expertise, live experimentation and jamming in a marathon of invention.

PRODUCERS FLOOR
Media and music productions, including broadcasters, video makers, press, and a 24 hour marathon in music making by professional composers and music producers.R.Rnp.R.

MTF LABS: #Performance #AI

Experiments in AI, Robotics, Data, Fashion Tech, VR, Neuroscience and more, lead to completely new hybrid technologies and culminate in exclusive performances showcased to select festival audiences.

MTF LABS: #Mycelia #Blockchain

Imogen Heap leads on a week-long lab devoted to finding solutions and creating new technologies for blockchain and music rights data management. Exclusive previews of the results will be showcased to festival audiences.

MTF RESEARCH

Luminaries from the MTF research community address AI, Human Music Interaction, Radical Inclusion, Digital Archives, Music Rights and Blockchain.

• For tickets, visit the Music Tech Fest website

• For our reports on previous editions of Music Tech Fest click here