Brains

After a conversation with Professor Yuji Ikegaya about his neurological research, I wanted to look into some of the functional peculiarities of the human brain.

Four of these peculiarities caught my attention. The first one concerns the area of autonomy or independence. This is because even in cases where there is no external stimulation, the human brain shows spontaneous activity that expresses itself in the form of fixed patterns. The second special feature of the human brain is the principle of ‘infection/contamination’ of gestures or sentences with the function of mirror neurones: Humans learn by imitating the gestures of others; this is the source of emotions such as empathy or sympathy. The third feature is the spontaneous learning and self-renewal of the brain, abilities that make it unique and distinguish it from a computer. And finally, the awareness of its own self that distinguishes it from the brain of an animal.

In the classical and rigorous form of the quartet I found an ideal field of exploration to develop this musical project. The quartet consists of the four brains of the musicians, but it is also an independent unit, a unified nerve centre.

The composition is thus driven by imitation, on the basis of patterns that are constantly changing in search of identity and in their relationship to the other and to others (musicians).

The Other is also the autistic person who is unable to imitate and understand the expressions, emotions and gestures of the outside world. The question of relationships thus becomes a question of dependence, independence and/or interdependence. It is at the heart of my compositional process, which, by organising and sonifying the behaviours of the different voices of the quartet, is also a means of questioning myself as a composer about my identity and my own relationship to the world.