This dynamic octet from The Hague features a lineup that includes harp, clarinet, guitar, and percussion, which they frequently augment with synthesizers, custom-built electromechanical instruments, and sound sculptures—several of which we will see and hear this evening.

Their debut with De Link is themed around Cybernetic Resonances—a program featuring works that explore the interplay between music and machines. Chopiniana, composed for solo cello, electronics, and sampler, serves as a tribute to one of Julian Maple-Oliveira’s favorite composers: Frédéric Chopin. The piece investigates the relationship between music history and technology, bringing Chopin’s musical world into dialogue with contemporary electronic sounds and digital sampling. Drawing from his own compositional idiom, Maple-Oliveira offers a fresh interpretation of fragments from Chopin’s oeuvre, with the cello taking center stage.

The program continues with Futuristic Octopus by Piyawat Louilarpprasert—a performance installation in which eight performers operate tentacle-like instruments powered by air and movement. Playful and theatrical, the work blurs the boundaries between human and machine.

Also featured is Death Strokes, Next Notes by Harald Jordal, a piece for clarinet, percussion, electronics, and stepper motors. Inspired by lyrics from the American rapper billy woods, the work reflects on the role of the artist in uncertain times. It suggests that the poet does not address questions of meaning through direct explanation, but rather by observing and depicting life itself.

In Cybernetic Resonances—the work from which this program takes its title—Dan Ehrlich explores how the human body can be digitally manipulated and extended. Using a harp, vibraphone, electric guitar, and synthesizers, he crafts a rich sonic landscape in which acoustic sounds are transformed via breath-controlled sampling—a cyborg brought to life through music!

A second contribution by Julian Maple-Oliveira brings the program to a close. Inspired by the fictional steampunk creature "Mecha-Cow," the piece combines vibraphone, cello, piano, and quirky synthesizers. It offers a witty reflection on the replacement of living beings by machines—an event that, according to those in the know, is slated to occur sometime around the middle of the coming decade.