Luciano Azzigotti: Speculative Organology

Field of study: Artistic Research
Tilknytning: MishMash - Centre for AI and Creativity

This research inverts the traditional function of organology - from classifying existing instruments to generating novel ones. It proposes a Speculative Organological Model (SOM) that treats instruments not as static objects but as dynamic phenomena emerging through entangled human, material, algorithmic, and environmental agencies.

Modern organology conceptualizes instruments as networks integrating subjects, technical objects, and functional environments. This project extends that triad into micro-scales (metamaterial acoustics), fictional dimensions (impossible constraints that probe design boundaries), and virtual hyper-spaces (AI-mediated synthesis, adaptive notation). By incorporating speculative realism, philosophy of technology, and generative logic, the framework enables data-informed speculation: acoustic simulation validates fictional geometries before fabrication, while AI agents co-design through continuous sensorimotor loops rather than text prompts.

Approaches

The SOM operates across three layers: (1) Acoustic (empirical) - formalizing instruments as material-topological-excitation systems modelled via FEM/FDTD; (2) Ontological (network -instruments as multi-agent assemblages where human performers, AI algorithms, and environmental actors co-constitute musical reality through intra-action; (3) Fictional (speculative) - impossible instruments (negative mass resonators, telepathic interfaces) as epistemic tools that inform physically realizable hybrids.

Four physical prototypes instantiate these principles: BIOGEL FEEDBACKER (bio-inspired hydrogel with AI-modulated stiffness), LUTHEMIC (historical lute body + feedback electronics), PHOSPHORBONE (3D-printed photoluminescent aerophone with self-amplification), and a proportional aerophone family extending Gudemos' pichqa-tawa modularity. Three virtual instruments explore distributed agency: TOKINOR (NFT instrument measuring collective virtuosity), FDL (environmental listening network), and an autopoietic notation system where elements evolve through acoustic/spatial/AI coupling.

Outcome and contributions

A 60-minute concert work, BIOME CONSURGENS, integrates all modules through systematic rehearsal with human performers and non-prompt AI agents. Outputs include peer-reviewed publications, open-source repositories (CAD files, code, datasets), technical documentation, and workshop dissemination across NIME, ICMC, and collaborating institutions (RITMO Oslo, University of Sussex).

This framework contributes to organology (generative methodology vs. taxonomy), AI music (embodied agents vs. prompt-based systems), speculative design (simulation-informed fiction vs. artisanal speculation), performance practice (distributed intra-active agencies), and digital lutherie (rapid prototyping workflows integrating acoustic modelling).