“...the end of the romantic love that was fed to many of us is not the end of love, but the beginning of it.” — Silvia Federici in an email to Şeyda Kurt
From medieval troubadours to contemporary pop stars, love songs have long been regarded as one of the most powerful and universal forms of musical expression. As pervasive cultural artifacts, they are understood to play a central role in shaping how society perceives love, desire, and intimacy. But what discursive structures and normative ideas about romance, sexuality, and gender roles are reinforced by these songs? To investigate this, an algorithm was trained on a diverse corpus of song lyrics and academic texts on love. Drawing from this polyphonic foundation, new lyrics were assembled, which were then brought to life on stage as a scenic concert.
Choreography: Peter Scherrebeck Hansen
Performance: Ari Merten, Peter Scherrebeck Hansen
Songwriting: Ari Merten, Peter Scherrebeck Hansen
Music Production: Ari Merten
Costume & Stage Design: Ari Merten, Peter Scherrebeck Hansen
Artistic Programming: Peter Hermans
Artistic Research: Gala Faraus
Photos: Roxana Rios
Video Documentation & Stills: Lea Hopp
Special Thanks: Sandy Brede