Jojo Mayer: Redefining Drumming with Generative Technology

[@LDdrums20]

Man the second part of the video was very interesting and insightful

[@swissinfo]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@dharmageddonnow]

I met JoJo in 2011 at a show in NYC. I had nothing to say or ask really. His brain was beyond what I could imagine. But I'm trying. Truly a brilliant mind amongst artists.

[@Klausitodrums]

Jojo Mayer is a giant. A driver and innovator. More creative in the purest sense. I love his restlessness and curiosity. He has no fear of contact and sees art as a venture and risk, but also as a playground and the resulting opportunity to discover new things. He stands on the shoulders of giants and knows the meaning and responsibilty of it. But what impresses me, in addition to his incredible virtuosity, musicality and creativity, is his vision and ability to place his artistic possibilities in a highly interesting philosophical discourse. Jojo Mayer. Creative Musician. Innovator. Philosopher.

[@sevenfacecomplex]

what a joke

[@Klausitodrums]

@@sevenfacecomplex 😂

[@HolyGhostDrummer]

I would love for JOJO to release this close loop thing. I would love to just play to myself like this!

[@sonicart1808]

JoJo is smart, he realises this technology is going to be prevalent in the times to come and he's working on ways of using it and opening up new possibilities...great musician and mind.

[@inktime]

Jo Jo is such an intellectual. He sees a new direction and purpose for music that is just now being explored.

[@swissinfo]

Glad you liked it!

[@Bsloga]

So refreshing and hopeful. He is a modern musical giant and innovator. Fantastic and inspiring.

[@SaS-Music]

JoJo “Gadget” Mayer.

[@MelchioDrum]

This is how a visionary person is.

[@antonionadalin6573]

The most unteresting interview that I saw and listened this last decade. JoJo is the Drummer and also the Drum Machine in a same time. Jimi could say of you .. Man you are so experienced ✨☀️🎶🙏

[@swissinfo]

Glad you liked it!

[@bananaemon2339]

Jojo's Bizarre Drumming Adventure !! 😎 Exploring and pushing the limits ! 💪💪 Thank you man 🙏

[@vickytok65]

This young man is geniuinely genuine. ❤

[@yurysverdlov2935]

Jojo is extremely insightful. Thank you for filming this!

[@universalmeditation8631]

I’ve respected JOJO since the 80s and this video explains why! ❤

[@jasonhobaugh]

Please get this amazing concept to market! ❤

[@fess04]

keep exploring Jojo. fantastic. drumming is a language and this has new implications for language and action.

[@TapatioDrummer]

it doesnt surprises me at all ! That Jojo is already looking into the future with these technologies, soon enough we all will be studying what has explored, just like we do right now

[@alonzovillarreal4666]

This man is always so innovative

[@fredrikh3547]

Such a fantastic drummer, Mr Mayer. A pleasure to hear and behold.

[@rudedoc]

I appreciate Jojo's thoughts and ideas on creativity much more than I do his current musical output. It feels like the music and performance is now only a guide or a tool that allows him to examine his theories and philosophies on creativity and original thought and I kind of like this.

[@swissinfo]

Thank you for watching, glad to hear you liked it!

[@fivebyfivesound]

I wonder if for artists who feel they’ve reached the outer edges of how they can innovate technique and those idioms which are informed by that, then the next likely step is into related but different mediums, and into more abstract conceptual and philosophical creative pathways.

[@SantiagoCasas2007]

The comment on creativity, critical mass and signal to noise ratio is just amazing! 17:11

[@swissinfo]

Glad you like it!

[@juanmanuelpache381]

Incredible JoJo! Thanks for giving this! Greeting from Argentina 🇦🇷🥁

[@davidepentassuglia9234]

Great drummer and artist. At 60 yo still young and modern. The things he said are very interesting! Great art can not be created whit opportunism 👏

[@gordonlink2981]

While I admire his ability on the acoustic kit, I take issue w/ some of the comments here. At 7:14 when he states "don't need to learn how to play music" I would normally have left the video at that point but given who he is, I finished the video. TECHNOLOGY WILL NEVER REPLACE TECHNIQUE. I thought the basslines from the laptop were boring but this tool does make for an interesting metronome. I don't feel improvisation is born out of necessity but rather curiosity. I thought he raised an excellent point about current music not having any period traits like music from the 60s or 70s. Keep up the good work Jojo.

[@gauravpf]

Jojo is an infinite inspiration..

[@GerardoSolnie]

Jojo thinks that the opportunistic spirit of the Swiss is not the best for developing art. I can add a thought to that: being close to death makes you feel more alive but more stressed However, I must say that the peace and organization in Switzerland is admirable, and many musicians, including myself, are very grateful to Switzerland and its festivals, such as the Montreux Festival, which opened my mind to making music around the world. The care and attention of the Swiss made me feel very good! I am grateful to Switzerland and the Swiss for what they have given me. 🙌🏻❤️🇨🇭✨✨

[@GerardoSolnie]

As a token of our gratitude to the Swiss and the beautiful city of Bern, we have composed this song. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r33daXR-q8iBiqcsi=n4sClPnRZegeN40U

[@elvissanchez8985]

Daing Jojo is far ahead of the game!! 👌🙌👏🔥❤️

[@elvissanchez8985]

An insight into the depth of Jojo’s philosophy of music. This video is great!!!

[@swissinfo]

@@elvissanchez8985 Glad you like it!

[@karenush388]

Wow! Fantastic idea! 22 century ❤

[@k.f.241]

Unbelievable! Best wishes from Croatia guys 🎉

[@bibliotecacentralutnfra1338]

JOJO is the Nicola Tesla of drums.

[@AroCaceresdrums]

excelente !

[@mktfree]

Ándale

[@CamiloMoyaBaterista]

1000000000 better than Colaiuta

[@hybrid8253]

Akira Jimbo was doing this 20 years ago (maybe even longer)

[@CamiloMoyaBaterista]

@@hybrid8253 🙄🙄🙄

[@BmakinFilm]

Thanks for a well shot and lengthy interview with a thoughtful and dedicated drummer who raised the bar for all drummers with his dedication to the craft: never stop Jo Jo!

[@swissinfo]

Glad you liked it!

[@benjammin4840]

Cool to see what Jojos up to!

[@swissinfo]

Glad you like it!

[@ericwilhelm2941]

I think i said that before somewhere, Jojo ist ein Philosoph A great great THINKER and Innovator. we are very lucky to live at this time with him speaking his great Mind. and yes, a true Baddass am Schlagzeug!!!

[@MaximinoSantos]

Ótimas perguntas! Jo Jo é um dos meus filósofos favoritos.

[@betulaobscura]

Interviews with Jojo Mayer are always interesting.

[@swissinfo]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@scottr5211]

Fascinating. Not surprised that Jojo came up with this. He’s always ahead of the curve. Anyone know who makes the software he’s using?

[@Omantrs]

Excelente! Es muy interesante la información que comparte el maestro Jojo, gracias.

[@MIDIPipe]

Thanks You Very Maestr@s For Sharing These Investigations. I am so, so glad to be alive in this exciting part of the human era...

[@Dmz248]

How does he capture the sound to feed it? I'm assuming a room mic that gathers all or just kick and snare? How is it processed before being fed into the model? If it's raw audio how damn strong does his machine have to be to do it live, in real time on stage with little to no latency?!?! Is there an actual LLM-like model involved or is that just randomized reactions to triggers??? So many questions. As a drummer who dabbles in data science i'm baffled, amused, shocked, excided and worried all at the same time. Mad scientist of the drum world, hats off, Jojo!

[@sandwich-breath]

Ableton Live sync'd to live metronome input, random pattern generator, midi fed into a bass synth (likely Operator), and many layers. Short answer - it's Ableton Live...

[@Dmz248]

@@sandwich-breath so much less sophisticated that it's made to seem. Still impressive, but it's not generative technology

[@sandwich-breath]

@@Dmz248 I don’t believe so, but that’s not detracting from JoJo… he’s a monster drummer. If anyone is using their talents to generate AI I’m happy he’s on it!

[@timnordberg7204]

@@Dmz248 how do you mean it's not generative? it's not some GenAi hooey--it's likely an amalgam of M4L devices listening either to his audio input or MIDI triggers (or both). Probably a bunch of envelope followers, probabalistic midi note generators, midi pitch quantizers, arpeggiators, etc, whose values change in response to the volume, timing, and density of his playing. There is going to be latency in a system like this--the machine reacts to him. But the latency is on time--1/16th latency sounds like funky syncopation. Then he reacts to its syncopated output, then it reacts to how he reacted to it, etc etc. Changes can still happen on the "one" because the machine doesn't stop on a dime when he stops. It's probably a bit *more sophisticated than you assume--a lot less processor-intensive, a lot more design-intensive.

[@grooverbc]

Danke für inspierierenden Gedanken - Philosophy in motion

[@SantiagoCasas2007]

This is amazing!

[@romaneberle]

Jojo Mayer is just great. :)

[@lajeanette33]

I hope it gets available for other drummers soon.

[@fredifreudi9034]

This is realy great. Thank you. JoJo Mayer became an enlightened master: I adore him. The only thing I'd like to know, is the latency time of the laptops and that KI music system to jam with now below the 5 milliseconds of our ears can hear between two different signals? And can that programm and the hardware be purchase somewhere? Thank You🙏

[@mikemckee9376]

Help! What is his red very thin pad over the bass drum that is split into four sections to drive the electronic synth sounds?? I absolutely love it and would like to know where to get one or two?? anybody know? JoJo Forever! He is amazing always!

[@CurtisMichelson-dk6ho]

Thank you JoJo for spending your covid downtime in such a productive way!❤

[@Santiagoperroud_music]

This is the future thank you again JOJO !

[@RainerSteffenHain]

If this is the future I will stop listening to new music.

[@DrumTipTuesday]

This is fantastic! You are always so imaginative

[@bobvanluijt897]

This is an excellent interview / docu

[@AardvaarkTonto]

Go to Liverpool and see Paul Kappa on Saturday at the Cavern Pub. 5 hours no break, no rehearsal, live learn it on the fly band. Secret legends.

[@maurice_drums]

Wow, so suprised about how Jojo Mayer and I‘m from Switzerland! Crazy guy and just so interesting documentary, this was really interesting and inspiring. Thank you!

[@ianchui7711]

He is so innovative ❤

[@RainerSteffenHain]

The dehumanization of music is not innovative!

[@flyagaric23]

The human breakbeat trip wizard just keeps on giving...

[@A.ChristopherJohnson]

Love me some Jo'

[@nyla3979]

Truly next level !!

[@mellilore]

Marshall McLuhan: the nedium is the message. At some point the medium evolved at the point it really became the message. No more "Jimi Hendrix's" since, end of games (it "only" concerns the mainstream, luckily).

[@doubts]

In a live context, the AI would have to be watching/listening to the crowd. When musicians play live they look into the eyes of tens/hundreds or thousands of people. There are a whole lot of human interactions going on.

[@dominikn19]

WOW.

[@keziahj]

Very nice - thanks a lot!

[@swissinfo]

Glad you liked it!

[@jas_bataille]

"It's a little bit like the analytical perception of fourth dimensionality [...] this is the basic idea." Jojo "he should have had the nickname brain" Mayer

[@hybrid8253]

Akira Jimbo was doing this 20 years ago

[@artemmelnik7965]

I think we witness here something really unimaginable: a Swiss person contemplating on the Swiss Weltanschauung. I always thought that this is a taboo in Switzerland, or Swiss are simply incapable of any self-introspection. Jaw-dropping! 😧

[@swissinfo]

Well, that's a bit too clichéd, isn't it?

[@superjaykramer]

What generative software is he using???

[@mrbgnle]

I've done similar stuff using Bitwig. Different parts of the drums triggering instruments, note randomisers, effects et cetera. Real fun!

[@jordanwarne911]

Awesome ! 🥁🥁🥁

[@RainerSteffenHain]

No, it has hurt my eyes and also my ears.

[@mazetoeden9334]

Jojo is awesome

[@soulproprietor]

Once they teach the robots to play drums with the technique, feel, musicality and inventiveness of players like Jojo Mayer, it's pretty much over. But it could also go a different way... basic run-of-the-mill "sonic wallpaper" type of music could become even more common and uninteresting --- while in-person experiences of humans making music by hand in real time will become less common and more valued. Who knows???

[@creativephilo]

This is the only way I can find hope. People like JoJo Mayer will hopefully become ignored as people get back to organic creativity with other humans.

[@jas_bataille]

@@creativephilo This is the most absurd missing the point take I've read in a long time. Artists remains and will remain relevant because they embrace new technology instead of only seeing the negative aspects. Creations between humans will never cease to exist. It's impossible. It takes humans to listen and it takes to create AI - and we'll never cease to play instruments. The level of playing of young musician is completely phenomenal and increases every year that goes by as well as a focus being more on creating new music versus trying to become famous. We should embrace AI and create with it instead of being like, "oh well! It's gonna replace us!" - it's not. Oh it can do what we do? Oh well. You know what it can't? Create something that was never heard before. That's impossible. We can do that.

[@creativephilo]

@@jas_bataille Still with the tired, old "it's just a tool" argument, how refreshing. 🙄As if technology is just sitting there and it's entirely up to the person using it to decide. That's how a hammer works, or a drumstick. AI is an institution, one built by an alliance of university researchers gathering data, military contracts, the multi-billion-dollar tech industry, and state agencies like policing to create biodata for racial profiling. To think you, the individual, are driving how technology is used is fantasy. The individual influences it insofar as one contributes to it. And JoJo Mayer is contributing to the mechanization of the drums and to music itself. Just look at all the so-called "good players" these days - they're KZbinrs who sit in a basement and get good at chops but don't understand the human element of making music. This is why JoJo is bad for music, he's part of this tendency. I'm not saying he doesn't play with humans, I'm saying that this advocacy of his drives people to eradicate the humanity of music because humans become unnecessary. If you don't understand that, I can't help you. You do you.

[@RochusKeller]

Cool. How did he actually do it? What is "the machine"? Is it just a program on the laptop? Did he write it himself? From scratch, or which building blocks did he use?

[@jorgemarcos3771]

Exactly! Does anyone have any info on this???

[@Reversed82]

it looks and sounds like what he's actually performing on is probably some max4live device or rack in ableton live that he came up with. generative patches aren't really something new in any modern DAW, but combining it with live drum signals as an input is untypical but not unrealistic. could be that there's more to it but that's exactly what it sounds like in those short snippets. not sure about how it "follows" his playing in terms of time signatures, though "following" kind of implies that it's just matching a tempo and follows sequences because it just repeats the rhythm on the input so he can vary but repeat a sequence and it will seem like the processing is "following" his rhythm. what would be more interesting is if it anticipated certain changes, but i'd guess that's not something that's doable right now.

[@RochusKeller]

@@Reversed82 Thanks; so it's not really based on deep neural networks - as I supposed from the interview - but rather conventional algorithms.

[@Reversed82]

@@RochusKeller i would guess so, it's definitely not impossible to do using conventional technology. i know there are some generative tools in DAWs now that use fancy transformers and stuff but i don't think this does; especially stuff like suno etc. that actually generates an audio signal directly takes way too much compute time to run in this low-latency context. (not saying it's impossible, just that it's unlikely)

[@tommyvizzle]

Anyone know what program he's using?

[@SaintMont]

He is always thinking outside of the box. I loved the full interview but can you upload the performance of "I machine"? I think he called that way.

[@swissinfo]

You probably mean the name of his project "Me/Machine"? He's still touring with it so you might be able to catch one of the live performances!

[@Neverokful]

Very cool!

[@OlimpiuVuia]

Wow! Thank you for sharing!

[@swissinfo]

Glad you like it!

[@afrigal2420]

still love your work!!

[@sobrehombre9338]

Yes!!

[@nnnbbb2148]

Apart from being a great drummer and musician this guy is also a philosopher.

[@RainerSteffenHain]

...now going to dehumanize music.

[@daviewavie112]

“Analytical perception of fourth dimensionality, you know what I mean?”

[@drumbar3790]

Where can we buy this app/program?

[@swissinfo]

He created it by himself. But as he said in the interview, it's still a work in progress, so it'll probably still take a while before it gets to the market (if at all).

[@nlabbe]

Jojo 🔥

[@bumsibar6163]

Thanks for that. Both words and drumming couldnt resonate with more with me. Like a future Tony Williams and the cultural theorist Mark Fisher who wrote a long time ago that the 21st century will be reliving the ideas of the 20th century, but in hi definition. The way we experience artistic time periods is dying as we speak,” explains the video’s narrator. “In our current state of this new postmodern social existence that we see in the West, historicity is gone. The way we interact and experience time is starting to fade away into a confused jumbled mess of aesthetic chaos.” Also useful how he programmed himself his very own Tim Lefebvre. Jojo Mayer: What a beautiful human being

[@beckmillan]

The future is now.

[@ginobanksofficial]

Epic

[@johnnhello4913]

Awesome

[@bromasi]

NICE❤️

[@Pure_KodiakWILD_Power]

It's still a closed loop with the same feel, not able to flow into different yet intuitive directions like actual musicians can.

[@graymccarthy685]

The Bays (Andy Gangadeen) have just announced a London show where Tom Middleton (Global Communication) will act as an ‘AI moderator’. This human/AI moderator may bridge this gap into pushing the music in different directions.

[@alibardgett1493]

Always pushing the boundaries! Creativity is limitless for Jojo 😎🥁🎶

[@Kung_Fu_Jesus]

@@graymccarthy685Tom Middleton is a superb producer

[@kreisformch]

🔥

[@ddummer]

I like thinking brains... with drumsticks attached.. :)

[@Samsgarden]

If you can't beat em, join em.

[@TheFuchsl666]

If I could buy that as a vst, that would be great :D

[@roadwarriorroadwarrior8160]

Can anyone see the different expression of vocabularity between a prepared person for do his job as a reporter and an true artist? ..

[@youngtevanced8818]

Whoah

[@mattdrums8341]

Classic. This from a man arrogant and empathyless enough to say to my then 14 year old pupil when we told him my pupil was entering a Roland drumkit playing competition "huh, those kits are just a glorified drum pad". If he's been like he was with my pupil with the musicians he's played with, no wonder he's left to play with a heartless feel-less machine. What's more all the techniques he claims as his own aren't "push pull", they're from a long lineage of great players starting with Moeller and tap dancers. I was around at the start of the rave generation, he was also not the first drummer to play drum and bass/electronica music. I'm not jealous, he's a great player, he's just not very nice especially to kids in my experience.

[@SoyArtorio]

Esa máquina es una buena fumada

[@dtasoudis]

I would propose a duet with Imogen Heap!

[@russellzauner]

need to get Jojo and Imogene (Heap) together

[@TehSyneS]

Ableton drummer made max for live devices for this, youtube him.

[@TR-707]

Ableton Live detected

[@pedrummer]

That's until H.A.L. comes along... Terminator 2, anyone?

[@dharmageddonnow]

Omg this is the future! 😂

[@daniel_fa]

🎮🥁🔥

[@Craiger522]

This would be soooo much more listenable and entertaining without the computer generated stuff. AI at this point has no soul.