What changes when musicians shape the systems behind their sound? Cristian Vogel brings that question to Sonic Days in a session connecting artistic practice, music software and AI.
Taking the title of his 1995 EP, Artists in Charge of Expert Systems, as a starting point, Vogel will explore the role of artists as coders and designers of their own creative tools. The session is part of the Sound Synthesis track.
Making the instrument is part of making the music
Vogel’s NeverEngineLabs offers a useful introduction to this side of his work. Its catalogue includes software instruments, signal-processing tools and custom sounds for Kyma. Projects such as MOdARK connect a physical-modelling sound engine with a three-dimensional performance interface, bringing instrument design and musical expression into the same creative process.
That relationship gives the Sonic Days discussion a practical starting point. The controls an instrument offers, the behaviour of its synthesis engine and the way a musician interacts with it all influence the music that becomes possible.
An artist’s perspective on DSP and AI
At Sonic Days, Vogel will consider digital signal processing and AI through the perspective of someone who makes both music and tools. How can artists shape these systems towards their own sonic ideas? What possibilities open up when the software itself becomes part of the work?
For producers, synthesis enthusiasts and creative technologists, the session offers a chance to examine the decisions behind the instruments as well as the sounds they produce.
Meet the speakers at Sonic Days
Cristian Vogel
Thursday 19 November 2026, 14:30–15:30 CET
Yamaha, room 0.42
Track: Sound Synthesis
Sonic College, Kolding
Explore the session and add it to your Sched programme.
Sonic Days takes place on 18–19 November 2026, with a warm-up programme on 17 November. Explore the full programme and plan your visit.