ResidencyHexagram, MontrealApril 2024
The Hexagram residency, led by artist-researchers Alexandre Saunier and Maurice Jones, consisted of four sessions and culminated in an open studio presentation. Sessions were held at Hexagram’s spatial sound dome at Agora Place des Arts, with one session hosted at Concordia University’s Milieux Speculative Life space. The main objectives were to develop a Large Language Model (LLM)-controlled sound spatialization system and to conceptualize “sonic agents”. Initial technical challenges in configuring the 4DSOUND system for the Hexagram dome led the team to adapt and prototype on a quadraphonic speaker setup. 

The residency produced a working system that integrates GPT-3.5 and 4DSOUND, generating dynamic sound movement and LLM behavior. Sonic agents were conceptualised with three core components: sense (input and analysis), behavior (prompt and recipe), and generative output (sound creation and spatialisation). This framework raised critical artistic and technical questions: how can LLMs be used to design meaningful sonic behaviours, and how might such systems evolve into instruments for artists? The open studio offered a demonstration of these developments and fostered dialogue around speculative futures in spatialized generative AI.