Digi-Tongue Twister
First of all, I would like to thank Harco Rutgers (esc.rec) for making this release possible. I would also like to thank Mayana Nasybullova for her huge contribution to this release and Alexandr Pustynsky for his help with the mastering.
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Concert will be held on the 21st of July 2024 at De Perifeer, Deventer;
There`s something strange about TikTok`s speech synthesis. Even though the algorithm mimics a human voice, it still sounds fake, making it inherently weird. Breaking out of speech synthesis big-tech labs, this eerie imitation now surrounds us in everyday life, in the places we live, travel, or work.
(Digi-Tongue Twister) is a digital take on `Crirythme` (1958), a poem by François Dufrêne, a French pioneer in sound poetry and décollage art. The poem is meant to be spoken aloud and is a tongue twister that challenges how we pronounce words. In this version, TikTok`s text-to-speech engine takes on the challenge, reading some randomly generated text inspired by Dufrêne`s poem.
This work looks at sound poetry in the era of technofeudalism, where speech synthesis has become a new form of voice and expression. Yet, it remains a tool — a sound that hides our real voices. These digital voices have become part of our daily lives, changing how we communicate and find entertainment. As digital platforms shape our social and economic worlds, this release asks listeners to think about the authenticity and enjoyment of these synthetic voices while feeding our own voices to the big-tech algorithms.
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This release was created in collaboration with artist Mayana Nasybullova, who translated the sounds into beatiful ceramic sculptures. Her work adds a physical dimension to the digital nature of the release, creating a bridge between the digital and physical worlds.
`Digi-Tongue Twister` is released as: 5 x 5" clear lathe cut record with a ceramic sculpture and download; 10 x 5" lathe cut record with graphic and download; ∞ x download only
