Jojo Mayer is a global icon of the drums and a musical pioneer whose work extends far beyond his instrument. For the project WE/Machine, he joins forces with Jakob Bänsch, one of the most acclaimed trumpeters of the current generation.
In the 1990s, Mayer moved from Switzerland to New York, where, with his legendary band Nerve and live renditions of electronic beats, he left a lasting mark on modern drumming and the interplay between music and technology. With the project ME/Machine, Mayer went one step further > inspired by an experimental session with Brian Eno, he developed a generative AI system that combined his playing with harmonies and textures in real time.
WE/Machine, the next evolutionary stage of this journey, was developed in dialogue with ACT director and producer Andreas Brandis and trumpeter Jakob Bänsch, expanding the extraordinary Mayer-machine duo into a trio. Bänsch proves an ideal choice: virtuosic, stylistically open and gifted with absolute pitch – as well as equipped with his own system of generative, interactive music creation, conceived specifically for the project.
Through the interplay of technology and the creativity of two outstanding musical personalities, WE/Machine gives rise to a new and continually surprising form of expression. One might call it the essence of jazz, rethought and re-made.
