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Musical AI harmonises with your voice in a transcendent new exhibition

What happens if AI is trained to write choral music by feeding it a specially created vocal dataset? Moving new exhibition The Call tackles some thorny questions about AI and creativity – and stirs the soul with music

By Bethan Ackerley

23 October 2024

Leon Chew, The Call, Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst with sub, Serpentine, 2024

A chandelier evokes the rig of microphones used to capture the recordings

Leon Chew, The Call, Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst with sub, Serpentine, 2024

The Call
Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst
Serpentine North, London Closes 2 February 2025

Step into London’s Serpentine North gallery and the first thing you see is an organ. But it is far from a conventional instrument with gleaming flues and reeds. This organ is made up of fans used to cool graphics processing units. Each fan whirs at a pitch that depends on its oscillation, and the sounds combine in an otherworldly hymn…

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