8M, Music and Technology in the Stands: Powerrr for the Female Artists!

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On 1 March starting at 4:30 PM the cycle of music and digital feminism "8M: Music and Technology in the Stands" returns to Canòdrom. This year kicks off with an unprecedented participatory Musical AI Prompt Battle, live shows by ALBXROTO and nara is neus, and a debate that aims to reclaim luminous creation while advocating for the rights of artists in the age of artificial intelligence.

On Friday, March 1st, from 4:30 PM to 9:30 PM, Canòdrom – Center for Digital and Democratic Innovation, in collaboration with Digitalfems, a resident project in the space, co-organizes the event “8M: Music and Technology in the Stands.” It’s a session with a festive and reflective tone that brings together artists, musicians, and professionals from the fields of music, technology, and digital culture.

Opening up shared power to female artists

Under the motto “Powerrr for the female artists”, and for the fourth consecutive year, this day filled with music, debates, and advocacy aims to emphasize the role of women and non-binary identities in the world of music and artificial intelligence. Because when we involve technology and algorithms, the gender gap in music becomes even more apparent. There are only 5% of women working as sound engineers.

During this event, we’ll meet artists who are creating and experimenting with music and artificial intelligence technology in its most positive aspect. We’ll also discuss what’s being done to protect the female creators of this technology that feeds on all human creation. We’ll reflect on this with a debate involving 6 artists, thinkers, creators, and technologists. But before that, the event kicks off with energy by proposing a musical creation battle with algorithms, in which everyone is invited to participate and demonstrate that creating music with artificial intelligence is accessible to everyone. And the live musical performance will be provided by two emerging artists from the area, ALBXROTO and nara is neus.

  • Door opening: 4:30 PM
  • Music AI Prompt battle: registration required, limited capacity
  • Live shows and debate: free access until full capacity

The activities of the program are as follows

WELCOME! Door opening at 4:30 PM

MUSIC AI PROMPT BATTLE, 5:00 PM (Registration required)

How does a “sardana“ sound in 2024? Does it have a touch of “afrobeats,” or perhaps it resonates more with a “trap” rhythm? In this Music AI Prompt Battle, we put keyboards and our computer mice into action to create the most surprising song with a generative musical artificial intelligence. We celebrate an unprecedented battle in which we make two groups compete to create the most original musical version. How will we do it? We will give to the artificial intelligence system “prompts” or instructions to create songs that dazzle all participants.

LIVE SHOW by ALBXROTO, 6:30 PM

All the way from Nou Barris comes a bold proposal of symbolist aesthetics with sounds ranging from electronic pop to post-punk, leaving no one indifferent. ALBXROTO offers an energetic concert with lights and shadows that arise from their own vulnerability, shouting to our most sensitive, adolescent, and rebellious part.

DEBATE, 19:30 h

How are female artists using artificial intelligence technology? What movements are being generated to claim their rights regarding a technology that feeds on their creations? In this session, we bring together six female voices to explain their visions on the digitization of music and the fundamental role that artificial intelligence is playing.

nara is neus is a physicist, musician, film score composer, and avant-garde music producer; Rita Giménez is a public policy consultant and part of the Barcelona Music Tech Hub; Laura Benítez-Valero holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from UAB and is a university lecturer; Thais Ruiz de Alda is the founder and CEO of DigitalFems, an organization that designs projects to increase the presence of women in technological environments; Roser Batlle is a PhD candidate in musical AI and ethics at the Music Technology Group of UPF. Ginebra Vall, coordinator of the Barcelona Community Radio Network (XRCB), a digital platform for open-source radios, podcasting, and streaming, moderates the debate.

LIVE SHOW by nara is neus, 8:30 PM

nara is neus has stood out in Barcelona’s new ambient queer scene. In this concert, she offers us a delicate and ethereal musical journey accompanied by a play of lights that will come to life as an extension of the sound and herself.

The Canòdrom – Center for Digital and Democratic Innovation and DigitalFems organize this event with the collaboration of Artista o Musa, a youth and feminist cultural association from the districts of Sant Andreu and Nou Barris, and Barcelona Music Tech Hub, a grouping of institutions and companies specializing in music technology in Southern Europe. With this initiative, we aim to highlight the transformative power of music and technology, as well as the importance of inclusion and diversity in these fields.