In January, Reinier Zonneveld gave fans a first look at his new R² music software, an AI model that can compose tracks live in real-time.
Now, the Dutch techno virtuoso has shared new details on the project’s live debut, which will see Zonneveld play alongside the R² model in the world’s first-ever back-to-back set between a human and computer.
Zonneveld’s AI B2B will take place at his own R² Festival, an event built specifically for the groundbreaking moment, on Saturday, August 17, in Spaarnwoude, the Netherlands.
In addition to Zonneveld’s own futuristic performance, the 35,000-capacity event will feature takeovers from powerhouse techno brands across eight stages.
Among these stages are The Beginning—paying homage to Zonneveld’s illegal rave origins—a rebirth of Amsterdam’s late De Marktkantine, Speedy J’s acclaimed STOOR audiovisual experience, German hard techno party Unreal, Amnesia Ibiza’s famous Pyramid party, a showcase from Belgium’s Kompass Klub, and Zonneveld’s own Filth On Acid label.
“4 years ago, I started exploring the use of AI in my music,” Zonneveld wrote on social media. Fast forward 2024, and I developed an AI clone of my musical brain with the help of a dear friend. It is able to play together with me and create music on the spot, suddenly opening up a whole new world of possibilities in my performance.”
In a video shared today, Zonneveld added that while other AI music generators are trained on vast libraries of other people’s music, R² has been trained exclusively on his own catalog and live sets, totaling over 2,000 hours of learned tunes.
In the same video, Zonneveld uses speech prompts to demonstrate R²’s ability to create tracks on the spot with no post-editing required. Check out the impressive feat for yourself in the post below.
Pre-sale registration for Reinier Zonneveld’s R² Festival is now available here.
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Featured image from Reinier Zonneveld.
