"The stimulation of bio-organisms through sensory (aural/visual) and electrical stimulation in feedback loops is presented by programming stimuli in real time and in a definite time-rhythmic sequence — music is art most involved in real-time organization of sensory stimulation." - Manford L. Eaton

MusicMakers Hacklab is a weeklong open, collaborative laboratory hosted by Peter Kirn of CDM (createdigitalmusic.com) and musician and media artist Leslie Garcia (lessnullvoid.cc). It allows practitioners from a range of disciplines to find new ways of exploring hybrid systems of human body, biology, and sound.

Now entering its 3rd edition within the CTM Festival, the Hacklab takes on the theme Tuning Machines, relating to some of the technological ramifications of CTM 2015 Un Tune. Following an open call for artists/performers, scientists, and experimenters, the selected Hacklab participants will collaborate for a few days to build new systems and instruments that refer to the Tuning Machines theme and then play these systems and instruments live in a public showcase at the conclusion of the week.

The Hacklab is open to all interpretations and imaginations of the theme, but projects could include, for example:

• Human sensors (Galvanic Skin Response, EKG, EEG, eye movement, blood pressure, resporation and mechanomyogram or MMG)
• Biofeedback systems
• Movement sensors
• Electrical stimulation
• Aural and optical stimulation
• Data sonification
• Novel physical controllers
• Dance performance, breathing techniques, and other physical practices

and musical and visual performances using all these techniques. The selected participants include artists and practitioners from various disciplines including biologists, composers, coders and more.

The public is invited to check in on the Hacklab's progress throughout the week as participants engage in hands-on workshops, talks, and skill "boot camps". The Hacklab's intensive free-form collaborative development concludes with a series of public performances at the MusicMakers Hacklab Finale showcase. Several special talks, open to the general public, and free of charge, are also organized as part of the Hacklab.

Leslie García

Leslie García is an electronic artist and digital media developer from Tijuana, Mexico. She explores the fusion process between art, science, and technology. Co-founder of the electronic media collective DreamAddictive (Tijuana 2003-2010), current member of Astrovandalistas (Mexico City 2011-present) and part of the Interspecifics Collective with Paloma López in Mexico City.

Her work has been show at a number of festivals as well as within collective and individual exhibitions in spaces such as Media Lab Prado, O1SJ, Piksel Festival, Centro Cultural de España, NOMAD Center for media research, Museum of Contemporary Art in Szczecin, Museum of Latin American Art, Transitio_mx, LabSurLab2, Hip3rorganicos, Nuvem, ISEA, MUTEK_MX, Transmediale, CTM Berlin, NIME 2014 London, and Sight & Sound Montreal, Vancouver New Music, among others.

Leslie currently holds a grant from the ECAS – European Cities of Advance Sound network for the Interspecifics collective.

Peter Kirn

Peter Kirn is an audiovisual artist, technologist, and journalist. He is the editor of CDM (createdigitalmusic.com and createdigitalmotion.com), and co-creator of the open source MeeBlip hardware synthesizer (meeblip.com). His work ranges from teaching creative coding with open tools to making experimental live techno, and as a writer has been a hub of discussion of trends in live and interactive visuals, and the design of new music technologies.