BRAZIL NOW is a composition that addresses increasing militarization and surveillance within urban areas. Its geographical and acoustic reference is São Paulo, the largest megacity in Latin America. The piece is based on field recordings that capture the symptoms of a Latin American variant of turbo-capitalism with its distinctive acoustic features. Eruptive public demonstrations on the streets are often accompanied by loud, carnivalesque elements. These are controlled by a militarized infrastructure, openly demonstrating a readiness to deploy violence. 
The sonic documents are analyzed by machine learning algorithms searching for acoustic memes, textures, and rhythms that could be symptomatic for predominant social forces. The algorithmic results are then used as a base for a score and its interpretation through a musical ensemble. The piece drafts a phantasmatic auditory landscape built on the algorithmic evaluation of urban conflict zones.

Composition and concept: Thom Kubli
Software programming: Lydia Ickler 
Research São Paulo: Bruno Pompeo
Interpretation and musical performance:
Gunnhildur Einarsdóttir, Kristjana Helgadóttir,
Ingólfur Vilhjálmsson, Matthias Engler
(Ensemble Adapter)
Spatial performance:
Mariana Carvalho, Andrei Cucu, Jeremy Woodruff

Thom Kubli (CHE/GER)
is an artist and composer from Berlin. His installations and performances are multidisciplinary, blending elements of sculpture, sound, and conceptual approaches. His works often use analytical instruments to question sensitive cultural and political processes.
thomkubli.net