Tonight, at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, classical ensemble NZTrio will be performing the world premiere of Rhythms of the Brain, where they strap on futuristic headbands and send their brain waves to a robot, which will transform their thoughts into a masterpiece.
Well, that is the hope.
Cellist Ashley Brown said while they had practised the performance, they had not tested it while actually connected to the robot yet.
The three musicians would be playing atypical, intricate pieces of music that stimulated their brains to different levels.
Their brain waves would then sent to the robot, which interpreted the data into movement and painted the canvas.
The result would be a work of art that displayed how musicians brains worked, he said.
They had tried out the headsets without the robot and any little thing would change the pattern of their brain waves.
Over the duration of the concert two different canvases would be filled by the robot.
The resulting paintings would be auctioned off to raise money for Music Helps, a charity which supported musicians with their mental health.
Brown had no idea what the paintings would come out like, but he was excited to see the result.
The musical numbers had been written specifically for the performance and were very intense, so it would make for both an enjoyable visual and an engaging musical experience, he said
