回溯：Co-constructing a Dual Feedback Apparatus

Yichen Wang , and Charles Patrick Martin

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

This performance presents a duet between two intelligent musical instruments 溯 (sù, to trace back; to go upstream) and Agentier (playing on agentic clavier), and their human performers, connected through feedback loops. Rather than treating AI as a tool that responds predictably to input, both systems operate recursively, where past actions continuously influence future behaviour. The 溯 operates in the audio space through latent representation. Its performer uses Make Noise 0-series synthesisers and MIDI controllers to work with a neural feedback synthesis system based on RAVE model, with a latent feedback loop embedded within the model’s internal structure. This allows the instrument to remember and reuse its own internal states, influencing ongoing sound generation through its recent sonic history. The Agentier functions in the control space. Its performer interacts with the system using a Roland S-1 synthesiser and Keith McMillen QuNeo touchpad, where control gestures are routed into a recurrent neural network that feeds back into the synthesis process. Through this feedback loop, the system actively shapes the evolution of control signals over time. Contrasting feedback in the audio and control domains, the performance explores shared agency, resistance, and ne-gotiation between humans and intelligent musical systems. Musical phenomena are co-produced through the entangled states of interaction, rather than through pre-existing system configuration or fixed mappings.

Citation

Yichen Wang , and Charles Patrick Martin. 2026. 回溯：Co-constructing a Dual Feedback Apparatus. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20782069 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_music_15,
 abstract = {This performance presents a duet between two intelligent musical instruments 溯 (sù, to trace back; to go upstream) and Agentier (playing on agentic clavier), and their human performers, connected through feedback loops. Rather than treating AI as a tool that responds predictably to input, both systems operate recursively, where past actions continuously influence future behaviour. The 溯 operates in the audio space through latent representation. Its performer uses Make Noise 0-series synthesisers and MIDI controllers to work with a neural feedback synthesis system based on RAVE model, with a latent feedback loop embedded within the model’s internal structure. This allows the instrument to remember and reuse its own internal states, influencing ongoing sound generation through its recent sonic history. The Agentier functions in the control space. Its performer interacts with the system using a Roland S-1 synthesiser and Keith McMillen QuNeo touchpad, where control gestures are routed into a recurrent neural network that feeds back into the synthesis process. Through this feedback loop, the system actively shapes the evolution of control signals over time. Contrasting feedback in the audio and control domains, the performance explores shared agency, resistance, and ne-gotiation between humans and intelligent musical systems. Musical phenomena are co-produced through the entangled states of interaction, rather than through pre-existing system configuration or fixed mappings.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {15},
 author = {Yichen Wang  and Charles Patrick Martin},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20782069},
 editor = {Lia Mice and Nicole Robson and Tara Pattenden},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {Live Performance},
 numpages = {5},
 pages = {59--63},
 presentation-video = {https://zenodo.org/records/19673150},
 title = {回溯：Co-constructing a Dual Feedback Apparatus},
 track = {Music},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_music_15.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}