Remember the driving-directions-on-tape from the 1970s? What if they took the scenic route? We present a novel, non-interactive audio guide. Not only does it tell you which exit to take, but also, where to look, and what to see there. We combine open data on historical monuments, “creative writing” of neural networks and human-curated songs about Google Maps and travel.
REMOTING is speculative fiction about the hubris of AI-aided content mills, but works today as a radio play which lets your mind travel — keeping a safe distance with “remote travel”. The title is a very literal translation of its first destination town, Thallwitz (Saxony, Germany).
REMOTING is a radio play. Produced for the exhibition ∞UNENDLICH∞ by FAIL (Fine Arts Institute Leipzig). Originally broadcast on Radio Blau on September 9, 2020, with a public listening party at Thallwitz’s town square.
- Voices: Alexander Lehnert, Lisa Palm, Google Text-To-Speech.
- Text (prompts) from Denkmalpflege in Sachsen, Gemeinde Thallwitz and WikiPedia
- Text (creative flourishes) by XLNet Transformers
Sample Text
In der Neuen Hauptstraße 4 befindet sich ein Wohnhaus (um 1905), ein einfach gegliederter Putzbau mit Krüppelwalmdach, ortsbildprägend an der Lossa.
Der Gründer des Architektenbüros T. Ave Gruch schrieb die Pläne:
„Die Häuser waren mit natürlichem Charakter gebaut und es war gut, einen Fußboden zu bekommen.“
(Spoiler: The first sentence was the prompt from real data, the second sentence is what the neural network came up with, given the prompt.)
Track list
00:00 Insecure Kids - Big Blood 00:30 Miami - Cate Le Bon 05:13 Saturday Morning Doze - Ernest Hood 06:54 Hand Drawn Maps - Luke Abbott 07:09 Google Maps Holiday - S Lyre 09:16 Stoned And Starving - Parquet Courts 10:12 Saturday Morning Doze - Ernest Hood 11:09 Autos Und Frauen - Blumentopf 11:43 Map Ref 41 Degress N 93 Degrees E - Wire 13:55 Autos Und Frauen - Blumentopf 13:59 I'm The Map - Dora The Explorer 14:13 Hand Drawn Maps - Luke Abbott 14:52 Google Maps - Elujay 16:07 Ride - Lana Del Rey 17:57 Google Maps - Sly Withers 18:22 Follow The Map - Mono 19:31 Journey In Satchidananda - Alice Coltrane 20:29 Follow The Map - Mono 21:12 Ride - Lana Del Rey 22:19 Journey In Satchidananda - Alice Coltrane 23:25 Clairaudients - Bright Eyes 27:14 Road To The Stars - Molly Drake 28:01 Ritual Roadmap - Calexico 29:06 Google Maps - The Screenshots 30:38 Everyplace Is A House - Maps & Atlases 31:29 Google Maps - Yeah No Yeah 31:49 Map Ref 41 Degress N 93 Degrees E - Wire 32:46 Google Maps - Yeah No Yeah 32:58 Truckers Atlas - Modest Mouse 33:43 Possibly The Best Song About Union City - The Guy Who Sings Songs About Cities & Towns 34:28 Google Maps - Las Desnortadas 35:38 Ritual Roadmap - Calexico 36:46 See America Right - Mountain Goats 37:13 Come On Feet - Quasimoto 38:43 No Cars Go - A Giant Dog 40:13 Ohne Navigation - Tamaz53 40:17 Climb-Down - June Chikuma 41:05 See America Right - Mountain Goats 41:42 Drunk Drivers Killer Whales - Car Seat Headrest 42:27 Crawley Is About 28 Miles From London, I Think - Von The Guy Who Sings Songs About Cities & Towns 43:17 Drunk Drivers Killer Whales - Car Seat Headrest 43:38 Climb-Down - June Chikuma 44:14 Drunk Drivers Killer Whales - Car Seat Headrest 45:53 Autos Und Frauen - Blumentopf 46:06 Google Maps - Yung Coso & K Swipe 46:53 The Map Is Not The Territory - Luke Howard 49:18 Saturday Morning Doze - Ernest Hood 50:31 Miami - Cate Le Bon