Latest Posts
[RECAP] Workshop: Exploring Variational Audio Autoencoders w/ Linalab
Transiting the Latent Space: Exploring Variational Audio Autoencoders with Linalab
W.O.L.K.: A Visual Tool For RBDJAN
RBDJAN's rap lyrics have multiple layers and a strong literary significance. Words and their context are essential to the artist, and RBDJAN is searching for ways to deepen this meaning further in live performances.
Jeroen Ermens vs AI: Signal Interference
Jeroen Ermens is a Hammond player exploring ways to innovate his antique instrument using new technology. With his project Signal Interference, he searches for methods to jam as a solo artist with his own technological sparring partner. Within the framework of Open Culture Tech, Jeroen collaborates with Bureau Moeilijke Dingen to develop a performance tool that combines real-time music, machine learning, and visuals. The result is a musical battle between Jeroen and AI.
Open Culture Tech #2: The First 6 Months
This report outlines the progress of the Open Culture Tech project over its first six months. It covers the selection of artists, the residencies, the workshop series, media activities, and a look ahead at the coming period.
Alien Collaborators: AI as Creative Partner in Music Making
A recap of the "Speculative Sound Worlds" workshop for Open Culture Tech with Nicole Chufi (AIxDesign).
Open Culture Tech: Meet the Residents
This year’s Open Culture Tech residencies bring together a wildly diverse group of musicians, technologists, and designers — each pushing the boundaries of how music, performance, and technology intertwine. The residencies work towards creating new open-source technologies and a live performance open to the public. Stay tuned for the dates.
Volkskrant Op-ed: Killed the Radio Star?
Killed the Radio Star? Nonsense, AI-Generated Music Won’t Get Anyone into a Mosh Pit
Full Report: AR for Music Venues
To strengthen the Dutch music sector amid ongoing digital transformation, it is essential to acquire hands-on knowledge, share insights across the industry, and create user-friendly tools grounded in public values.
WAIVE x Sound of Fractures
The final showcase of the WAIVE Europe project took place in London at Rich Mix, featuring a captivating performance by electronic music artists Sound of Fractures (Jamie Reddington) with support from Close up Things (Alex Patten). This event concluded the series of showcases exploring the integration of public heritage archives with AI-driven tools for musicians and audiovisual artists. Unlike previous performances, where performers like OOPUS and Błażej Kotowski focused on intricate AI music systems, Reddington’s and Patten’s sets leveraged the WAIVE tools in a more accessible way, utilizing the sampler and visualizer to enhance his live performance.
Avatar Showcase: Jan Modaal
Jan Modaal is a punk “smartlappen” artist. Jan is energetic and expressive on stage, but during his performance, he needs to focus on making his music. That's why we looked for innovative ways to use new technology to enhance Jan's physical expression – and his connection with the audience. This challenge led to the creation of the Jandroid Modaal concept.
Open for Collaborations
At Thunderboom, we are always looking for new projects with artists, labels, venues, and cultural organizations eager to explore the potential of new technologies like AI, AR, and avatars.
WAIVE x MTG
During the third WAIVE Europe showcase, two Barcelona-based artists brought AI, sound design, and local heritage together in an experimental live performance. Taking place at creative venue NIU, the show was led by Błażej Kotowski and Nicholas Evans – both DJs and PhD candidates at the prestigious Music Technology Group (MTG) at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Their set was a bold fusion of EDM, soundscapes and artistic research, using both WAIVE tools and their own AI-based technologies to transform archive materials into a new kind of music experience.
Open Call for Artists
Ariana Grande performs as avatar in Fornite, ABBA is a hologram show and Reinier Zonneveld plays back-to-back with his own AI software.
AR Showcase: Sophie Jurrjens
One of our latest experiments at Open Culture Tech involved musician and DJ Sophie Jurrjens, who’s known for her audio walking tours, called Off-Track.
WAIVE x OOPUS
During two performances in Viljandi and Tallinn, Estonian folktronica band OOPUS delivered an energetic live show where traditional music and generative AI came together on the dancefloor. The showcase was part of the WAIVE Europe project, which explores how public archives can be activated in new musical contexts. While artist Mark IJzerman previously used WAIVE to work with visuals, OOPUS focused on rhythm — using the WAIVE Sequencer to merge centuries-old drum patterns with modern electronic beats.
Avatar Showcase: Linde Schöne
For years already, Linde has had the wish to create a Christmas live show to accompany her Christmas album. Her wish was to create a grandiose Christmas experience with flying elves, background dancers and Chistmas decor. We decided to use our avatar system to bring to life the background dancers as dancing elves, based on the movements of Linde.
AR Showcase: Halloween
High Tea is an organization that promotes new and established names in the drum 'n bass scene by organizing live shows and festivals.
WAIVE x Mark IJzerman
During Dutch Design Week, artist Mark IJzerman kicked off the WAIVE Europe project with his immersive performance Despite Disturbed Waters: a hypnotic audiovisual soundscape in which archival images and sounds came to life in an immersive experience.
Open Culture Tech General Progress Update
At Open Culture Tech, we are now three-quarters of the way through the project, making this a good moment to briefly reflect on what we've done so far, but more importantly, to look ahead to what we still have planned.
AR For Music Venues
Mobile Augmented Reality (AR) is a big part of the Open Culture Tech project. Together with Ineffekt, Vincent Hofte, Smitty and Sophie Jurrjens we have developed unique tools and practices that have proven to be both accessible and valuable.
Discover Our New AR Tool
We are proud to announce that the new version of our creative Augmented Reality tool has been launched.
Avatars & AI visuals with Jan Modaal
Jan Modaal is a punk “smartlappen” singer from Amsterdam. He is an expressive artist who highlights social themes in his music and lyrics.
AI Showcase: Melle Jutte
Melle Jutte, R&B artist and producer from Amsterdam, has always had a curious mind when it comes to new technologies.
Avatar Showcase: Smitty
Smitty is a rapper from Amsterdam who talks to different versions of himself in his music. He talks to his youngest self and older self about different aspects of life.
AR Showcase: Vincent Höfte
Vincent Hofte is a jazz pianist who regularly plays on public pianos at train stations throughout The Netherlands. Together with Open Culture Tech, Vincent has created a short
AI Showcase: Eveline Ypma
Eveline Ypma is a soundscape artist from Amsterdam and Vincent Höfte is a jazz pianist from The Hague. Together with the Open
Residencies
We offer artist full-paid residencies that provide space to experiment with new technologies such as AI and avatars.
Hackathons
We organize hackathons that provide a collaborative space for exploring new technologies like AI and avatars.
Generative AI & Terms Of Use
Let’s start by saying that this article is not an endpoint. It is a step in our ongoing research into developing responsible AI applications for artists.
Open Culture Tech Summary Report
This report is a summary of results we collected in the first 7 months of the Open Culture Tech project. We surveyed more than 100 artists and other relevant sta
3D Scan Your Own Face
In the search for new technological dimensions, we use 3D scanning for our AR and avatar applications. This is an easy way to create and
ESNS 2024 Recap
Last week was ESNS 2024, the international music conference and showcase festival where more than 350 European artists perform annually
The Life Of Fi
Virtual influencers and artists have captured our imagination for years. Animated characters, sometimes even AI generated, that sing songs,
How We Create Concepts
In order to create the most useful emerging tech toolbox, the Open Culture Tech team works closely together with 12 selected artists.
The Frankenstein Of AI Music
As the MUTEK team wrote in the MUSIC x newsletter last August, it is impossible to tell whether AI music is good. Not only because there are
Collective AR During ADE
Last month, we created an AR (Augmented Reality) experience for upcoming DJ Ineffekt that premiered at the Amsterdam Dance Event. It enabled
Open Culture Tech: Behind The Scenes
At Open Culture Tech, we are developing our own open-source and easy-to-use AI, Augmented Reality and Avatar creation tools for live music. Open Culture Tech
Aespa, Avatars And Live Holograms
As part of Open Culture Tech’s Avatar Series, we delve into the unique concept of Aespa. Aespa is a South Korean girl group that has managed to
“Alexa, can you sing me a song?”
Voice cloning technology has developed rapidly, offering artists new ways to explore their creative depths. Artists like Holly Holly Herndon and Ghostwriter
Meet Our Artists
Open Culture Tech is working towards an open-source toolkit with existing and self-built tools for AI, AR and Avatar technology. To build this toolkit,
Is AI a threat to musicians?
AI-generated music is on the rise. A large chunk of this music has not been produced by a human hand. Anyone can generate a track at the touch of a button.
Behind the scenes: Building Our Own AR Tool
Imagine being in the middle of the audience at a concert of your favourite artist. You have a drink in your hand and are enjoying a great performance.
New series: Avatar Artists
Open Culture Tech is thrilled to present a unique new series that dives deep into the phenomenon that's reshaping the Asian music scene: Avatar Artists.
Low-Budget Holograms
An earlier show by Thunderboom Records failed miserably due to poor stage lighting coordinations. The disadvantage of this technology is that
Basic AI Visuals for Live Music
Most musicians are not VJs. But if you still want to have appealing visuals to enhance your live music, AI can help. In this article we discuss an
Sound & Vision – Audiovisual Hub
Sound & Vision is the national media archive and museum. Sound & Vision is based in Hilversum and serves most of the Dutch public broadcasters and has millions of hours of audiovisual, text, game and other content. It therefore offers many opportunities to experiment in the world of audiovisual research and design.
Open Call for Artists (closed)
Are you curious about the possibilities of new technology? Are you open to experiment and do you want to apply the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR) and Avatar technology during live shows? Then this is the chance to sign up for Open Culture Tech's unique Testing Program. Artists from every genre are welcome.
Open Culture Tech Kicks Off
Open Culture Tech is an initiative to make the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR) and Avatar technology more accessible to musicians in the Netherlands.