Mat Dryhurst

{{Infobox musical artist | name = Mat Dryhurst | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1984}} | birth_place = Birmingham, England | origin = | genre = {{flatlist| * Electronic * Experimental }} | occupation = | instrument = | years_active = | label = | website = }}

'''Mat Dryhurst''' is a British artist, musician, and technological researcher<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lamm |first=Oliver |date=2020-10-11 |title=Streaming: 'The Tools to Move Forward are There Ready to Be Used |journal=Culture Next}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-18 |title=Building an interdependent music scene: A list of resources by Mat Dryhurst |url=https://crackmagazine.net/article/lists/mat-dryhurst-interdependent-music/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Crack Magazine}}</ref> based in Berlin, Germany.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Krell |first=Tom |date=2019-02-08 |title=On Redesigning the System |url=https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/philosopher-and-digital-artist-mat-dryhurst-on-redesigning-the-system/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=The Creative Independent}}</ref> Dryhurst often works on interdisciplinary audiovisual projects in collaboration with Holly Herndon. The duo is known for their contributions to music and art, in which they explore the creative potential and ethics of creating content using technologies, such as AI, Web 3.0, and blockchain.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=Art Review Power 100: Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst |url=https://artreview.com/artist/holly-herndon-mat-dryhurst/?year=2021 |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Art Review |language=en}}</ref> Dryhurst and Herndon have been listed among Art Review's Power 100 in 2021<ref name=":0" /> and 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=Art Review Power 100: Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst |url=https://artreview.com/artist/holly-herndon-mat-dryhurst/?year=2022 |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=artreview.com |language=en}}</ref>

== Career ==

=== Advocacy for a decentralized internet === As an early adopter and practitioner of emerging blockchain technology including NFTs and social tokens,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Howard |first=George |date=2021-03-26 |title=Web3 As An Interdependent Economy: A Conversation With Mat Dryhurst |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgehoward/2021/03/26/web3-as-an-interdependent-economy-a-conversation-with-mat-dryhurst/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> Dryhurst's work envisions cultural production within a decentralized internet.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Lauren |date=2015 |title=Interview: Mat Dryhurst |url=https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2015/11/mat-dryhurst-interview |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=daily.redbullmusicacademy.com |language=en}}</ref> He exemplifies how artists and musicians can use technology to reclaim and direct how their work is displayed and contextualized when it is presented online.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tools In Our Hands: Discussing SAGA with Mat Dryhurst |url=https://fallowmedia.com/2015/dec/mat/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Fallow Media}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sutherland |first=Morgan |title=Mathew Dryhurst {{!}} Data Sagacity and Site-Specificity |url=http://dismagazine.com/discussion/73345/mathew-dryhurst-data-sagacity-and-site-specificity/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=DIS Magazine}}</ref>

In 2015, Dryhurst launched Saga, which is an embeddable self-hosting and publishing framework that lets content creators claim ownership in every space where their work is embedded online. Saga enables creatives to choose how their work will look when displayed on different websites where it is hosted or displayed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=Scott |date=2015-10-27 |title=Saga wants to change how artists display work online |url=https://www.factmag.com/2015/10/27/mat-dryhurst-saga-framework/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Fact Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Iadarola |first=Alexander |date=2015-10-27 |title=Saga Is An Exciting New Piece Of Software Fighting Artist Exploitation |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/saga-is-an-exciting-new-piece-of-software-fighting-artist-exploitation/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref>

Dryhurst envisions online culture through a lens similar to how independent record labels and DIY culture helped make the music industry more equitable and accessible.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Arcand |first=Rob |date=2016-11-30 |title=Sonic Youth |url=https://reallifemag.com/sonic-youth/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Real Life}}</ref> He notes that: “I'm bored of handing control of my work to centralized platforms that have no interest in representing the community of artists I identify with. An independent music industry was built by artists, for artists decades ago, and I think that we need to devise an equivalent infrastructure for online media. That doesn't mean SoundCloud with a different name and font, but an entirely different logic that is as nuanced and distinguished as the independent communities that use it.”<ref name=":1" />

=== Collaborations with Holly Herndon ===

Dryhurst has collaborated on music, visual art, and tech-based projects with Holly Herndon since 2013. One of their first collaborative projects was designing sound for Sonic Movement, a research project operated by the Swedish company Semcon.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Moss |first=Ceci |date=2014-01-22 |title=Continuous Partial Listening: Holly Herndon in Conversation |url=https://rhizome.org/editorial/2014/jan/22/holly-herndon/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Rhizome |language=en}}</ref> Responding to the need for pedestrian safety due to the silent nature of electric cars, the duo developed a system that transformed an electric vehicle into a musical instrument that sang and collaborated with its environment and crafted warning sounds alerting pedestrians of the vehicle's presence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Black |first=John |date=2014-04-07 |title=Sonic Movement |url=https://designingsound.org/2014/04/07/sonic-movement/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Designing Sound |language=en-US}}</ref> Their work premiered as an installation during Frankfurt Motorshow 2013.<ref name=":2" />

In 2015, Dryhurst and Herndon released an eleven minute long track called ''Recruit,'' which they made for British menswear line Cottweiler.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Swift |first=T |date=2015-01-30 |title=An interview with Mat Dryhurst {{!}} atractivoquenobello |url=https://www.aqnb.com/2015/01/30/an-interview-with-mat-dryhurst/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=AQNB}}</ref> The artwork merges outdoor soundscapes alongside Herndon's treated vocal samples.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Garnett |first=Abby |date=2015-02-10 |title=Holly Herndon / Mat Dryhurst: "Recruit" |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/17323-holly-herndon-mat-dryhurst-recruit/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref>

Dryhurst co-produced Herndon's albums ''Platform'' (2015)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-03-10 |title=The Quietus {{!}} News {{!}} LISTEN: New Holly Herndon |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/17410-holly-herndon-new-lp |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=The Quietus |language=en-us}}</ref> and ''Proto'' (2019) and joined her on tour as the supporting act for Radiohead in May 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chiaverina |first=John |date=2016-05-11 |title=Holly Herndon, Colin Self, and Mat Dryhurst To Support Radiohead On Upcoming Dates |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/holly-herndon-colin-self-and-mat-dryhurst-to-support-radiohead-on-upcoming-dates-6330/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=ARTnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref> ''Platform'' addresses themes of internet decentralization by actively exploring the concept of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), which Dryhurst explains as “a native way to create agreements and trust amongst people who you've not met or who might be pseudonymous”.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Howard |first=Lindsay |date=2021-05-25 |title=Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst on the dreamy possibilities of decentralized collaboration. {{!}} Foundation |url=https://foundation.app/blog/holly-herndon-and-mat-dryhurst |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=foundation.app |language=en}}</ref> ''Platform'' was created through the Internet in collaboration between Dryhurst and Herndon and participants from all over the world.<ref name=":3" />

=== Spawn and Holly+ ===

Since 2019, Dryhurst and Herndon have been making music using their own AI generators, which they named Spawn and Holly+.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=O'Brien |first=Terrence |date=2022-11-02 |title=Listen to an AI sing an uncannily human rendition of 'Jolene' |url=https://www.engadget.com/holly-plus-holly-herndon-dolly-parton-jolene-ai-cover-204750236.html |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Engadget |language=en-US}}</ref> They have called Spawn their “AI baby,”<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gotrich |first=Lars |date=2018-12-04 |title=Holly Herndon's AI Baby Sings To Her 'Godmother' |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2018/12/04/672758884/holly-herndons-ai-baby-sings-to-her-godmother |website=NPR}}</ref> while Holly+ is referred to as Herndon's “deepfake twin”.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Cliff |first=Aimee |date=2018-09-19 |title=The musicians leading the AI revolution |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/41412/1/musicians-ai-revolution-holly-herndon-mat-dryhurst-spawn-ash-koosha |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Dazed |language=en}}</ref> In 2021, a real time version of Holly+ premiered at Sonar Festival in Barcelona, Spain with Maria Arnal and Tarta Relena.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Philip |first=Sherburne |date=2022-05-24 |title=Will AI Take the Pleasure Out of Music? |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/article/ai-music-experimentation-or-automation/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rosés |first=Mercedes |date=2021 |title=Sónar Barcelona 2021 {{!}} Metal Magazine |url=https://metalmagazine.eu/en/post/article/sonar-barcelona-2021 |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=metalmagazine.eu}}</ref> Holly+ was also presented at TED2022: A New Era in April 2022 with Pher.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Delahoussaye |first1=James |last2=Zomorodi |first2=Manoush |last3=Simon |first3=Katie |date=2022-08-26 |title=Holly Herndon: How AI can transform your voice |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/08/26/1119220726/holly-herndon-how-ai-can-transform-your-voice |website=NPR}}</ref> Dryhurst and Herndon won the 2022 Ars Electronica STARTS prize for digital art for Holly+.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holly+ |url=https://starts-prize.aec.at/en/holly-plus/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=S+T+ARTS PRIZE |language=en-US}}</ref>

Spawn was developed during the making of ''Proto'' by Dryhurst, Herndon, and Jules LaPlace.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bloom |first=Madison |date=2019-03-11 |title=Holly Herndon Announces New Album PROTO, Shares Video: Watch |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/holly-herndon-announces-new-album-proto-shares-video-watch/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Beaumont-Thomas |first=Ben |date=2019-05-10 |title=Holly Herndon: Proto review – dystopia averted! AI and IRL in pop harmony |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/may/10/holly-herndon-proto-review-4ad |access-date=2023-03-31 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> It is an artificial neural network that can be trained to recognize and replicate distinct human voices.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Friedlander |first=Emilie |date=2019-05-21 |title=How Holly Herndon and her AI baby spawned a new kind of folk music |url=https://www.thefader.com/2019/05/21/holly-herndon-proto-ai-spawn-interview |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=The FADER |language=en}}</ref> Dryhurst and Herndon taught Spawn to create original music by feeding it audio files, mainly featuring Herndon's own singing voice.<ref name=":5" /> Spawn was also trained to learn vocal ranges by listening to the voices of others. During the making of ''Proto'', they held “training ceremonies” which are live call and response singing performances where Dryhurst, Herndon, and other enlisted participants train Spawn by singing to it.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Beedham |first=Tom |date=2019-05-06 |title=Holly Herndon Interweaves Human and Artificial Intelligence on New Album 'PROTO' |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/holly_herndon_intermingles_human_and_artificial_intelligence_on_new_album_proto |website=Exclaim}}</ref> Once Spawn develops a framework for a particular vocal timbre, it is able to improvise and compose music on its own.<ref name=":6" /> One of the first sounds that Spawn produced became the foundation of the first track on ''Proto'', titled “Birth”.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Francis |first=Hannah |date=2020-01-15 |title=The artist who spawned an AI baby |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/the-artist-who-spawned-an-ai-baby-20200115-p53rp9.html |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref>

In 2021, Dryhurst and Herndon developed Holly+, a music AI generator that lets the public upload polyphonic tracks that are then performed by a deepfaked version of Herndon's voice.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Stokel-Walker |first=Chris |title=This couple is launching an organization to protect artists in the AI era |url=https://www.inverse.com/input/culture/mat-dryhurst-holly-herndon-artists-ai-spawning-source-dall-e-midjourney |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Input |date=14 September 2022 |language=en}}</ref> In 2022, they released a cover version of Dolly Parton's “Jolene,” using Holly+. A modified score of the original song composed of new tonal harmonies was fed to Holly+ and then generated in Herndon's voice.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Diaz |first=Jesus |date=2022-11-08 |title=Dolly Parton's Jolene cover is a triumph of AI, artistry, and technical genius |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90806911/dolly-partons-jolene-cover-is-a-triumph-of-ai-artistry-and-technical-genius |website=Fast Company}}</ref> Every distinct vocal sound, including the deep breathes, usually taken by a performer before embarking on a harmony, was AI generated.<ref name=":4" /> Musician Ryan Norris accompanies Holly+ on guitar.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arcand |first=Rob |date=2022-11-01 |title=Holly Herndon Covers Dolly Parton's "Jolene" Using AI |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/holly-herndon-covers-dolly-parton-jolene-using-ai-listen/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Interdependence ===

On April 30, 2020, Dryhurst and Herndon debuted their podcast, Interdependence.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Bloom |first=Madison |date=2020-05-04 |title=Holly Herndon Launches New Podcast With Mat Dryhurst |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/holly-herndon-launches-new-podcast-with-mat-dryhurst/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref> Broadcasting from their studio in Berlin, they host conversations with individuals who are working at the forefront of integrating arts and technology.<ref name=":8" /> Podcast guests have included artists James Bridle, Simon Denny, Harm van den Dorpel, and Emad Mostaque who is the founder of AI deep learning platform Stable Diffusion.<ref name=":0" />

=== Spawning ===

In September 2022, Dryhurst and Herndon began collaborating with Jordan Meyer and Patrick Hoepner to develop an organization called Spawning. The name comes from the reproductive process that AI uses to create an infinite number of new works from its training data.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dryhurst |first=Mat |date=2023-01-10 |title=AI Art and the Problem of Consent |url=https://artreview.com/ai-art-and-the-problem-of-consent/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Art Review |language=en}}</ref> It is intended to help distinguish this process from more familiar concepts like sampling.<ref name=":7" /> Spawning allows artists to consciously opt in or out of the datasets that AI art generators use to train and create compositions.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ovide |first=Shira |date=2022-12-09 |title=Your selfies are helping AI learn. You did not consent to this. |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/09/chatgpt-lensa-ai-ethics/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> They set up a website called haveibeentrained.com, where artists can search the approximately 5.8 billion images in the Laion-5b dataset used to train popular AI art models Stable Diffusion and Midjourney.<ref name=":7" /> If an artist finds out that their work is being hosted within a dataset, Spawning can help them declare whether they want to continue or terminate the use of their imagery for AI training.<ref name=":7" /> Dryhurst believes that “more will ultimately opt in than out, but first we have to establish a common respect”.<ref name=":7" /> In March 2023, Spawning, partnering with stock footage company Shutterstock and portfolio platform Artstation, announced that 80 million artworks have been opted out of Stable Diffusion version 3.0 to honor artists’ claims.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kemper |first=Jonathan |date=2023-03-08 |title=Artists remove 80 million images from Stable Diffusion 3 training data |url=https://the-decoder.com/artists-remove-80-million-images-from-stable-diffusion-3-training-data/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=THE DECODER |language=en-US}}</ref> Spawning's approach has been cited as being instructive towards guiding the European Union’s policy on text and data mining.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keller |first=Paul |date=2023-02-17 |title=Protecting Creatives or Impeding Progress? |url=https://openfuture.eu/blog/protecting-creatives-or-impeding-progress |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Open Future |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2023, Spawning launched Source.plus, "a tool to search and curate image collections into individually tailored training datasets."

== Exhibitions and visual art projects ==

In 2015, Dryhurst and Herndon presented their first fine art exhibition at Hamburg's Kunstverein space.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Pangburn |first=DJ |date=2015-08-29 |title=A Utopian Installation Where the Real and Virtual Coexist |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-utopian-installation-where-the-real-and-virtual-coexist/ |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref> The project was commissioned by ZKM Center for Art and Media’s Sound Dome.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |title=Holly Herndon In Collaboration With Mathew Dryhurst at Kunstverein Hamburg Hamburg - Artmap.com |url=https://artmap.com/kunstvereinhamburg/exhibition/holly-herndon-in-collaboration-with-mathew-dryhurst-2015 |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=artmap.com}}</ref> The exhibition, titled ''Everywhere and Nowhere'', featured a combination of a 23.2-channel sound installation and related video works, as well as live performances by dancer and choreographer Jone San Martin, Jiu Jitsu fighter Sam Forsythe, and artist Brian Rogers.<ref name=":10" /> The performances are guided by whispered narration by Czech artists Marek Luzny and Lukas Hofmann.<ref name=":9" /> Inspiration for ''Everywhere and Nowhere'' came from a performance by Dryhurst and Herndon at Creepy Teepee, an anti-fascist music festival in the Czech forest.<ref name=":9" />

== Teaching ==

Dryhurst has been a lecturer at the NYU Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Paul Titlow |first=John |date=2020-08-13 |title=How Live Music Is Coping, And What The Near Future Will Bring |url=https://www.keranews.org/2020-08-13/how-live-music-is-coping-and-what-the-near-future-will-bring |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=KERA News |language=en}}</ref> Strelka Institute, and the European Graduate School.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goldsmith |first=Craig |date=2021-09-13 |title=Holly+ Ep2: IP and the DAO |url=https://www.kunm.org/arts/2021-09-13/holly-ep2-ip-and-the-dao |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=KUNM |language=en}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dryhurst, Mat}} Category:Living people Category:1984 births Category:21st-century British male artists Category:American electronic musicians Category:American experimental musicians Category:American digital artists Category:British electronic musicians Category:British experimental musicians Category:British digital artists Category:Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands