Now that our sense of self is intertwined with technology, what can we say about our relationship with those objects beyond the rational? The phrase "expression" is commonly associated with musical technology, but what is being expressed, and how? In the 2017 Hacklab, participants will explore the irrational and non-rational, the sense of mind as more than simply computer, delving into the deeper frontiers of our own human wetware.

Building on 2016's venture into the rituals of music technology, we will encourage social and interpersonal dynamics of our musical creations. We invite new ideas about how musical performance and interaction evoke feelings, and how they might realize emotional needs.

The hacklab is a collaborative, improvisatory, experimental environment for working together to conceive and realise new ideas in a week of intensive activity. We're looking for participants to share diverse backgrounds such as:

• Musicians
• Composers
• Sound artists
• Inventors
• Developers
• Engineers
• Instrument builders
• Music therapists
• Psychologists, experts in affective neuroscience
• Singers

...and more, to work with ideas like:

• How to trigger emotional responses and empathy in performance
• Performance constructions that express the emotions of the artists
• Exploring specific sounds and rituals relating to emotional understanding
• Interweaving narrative, psychology, and relationships in the performance interface and live presentation

We will begin the week with hands-on experiments in the building blocks of music – both acoustic and electronic. Then, we’ll progress toward a finished variety show of performances in the HAU2 theater space.