Mathematics and music have been intertwined for Daito Manabe since his university studies - which followed time spent as a DJ and playing in a jazz band - introduced him to the work of radical composer Iannis Xenakis, who pioneered the use of mathematical models in composition. 

In fact, mathematics underpins just about everything the Japanese polymath does: from technology-driven creative studio Rhizomatiks, his visual work for the likes of Björk and Squarepusher, to explorations of neuroscience and AR direction of a portion of the Closing Ceremony for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Like many others, in recent years he’s turned his attention to generative audio and visual models. Unlike everyone else, his use of this technology is worth paying attention to.

A frequent participant and enthusiastic attendee of Sónar and Sónar+D over the years, the seed for his new show was sown last year at Sónar 2025, when Daito spent time with members of Google’s DeepMind AI laboratory. The conversation continued after the event, and his brand-new AV show (still under development) has been created using DeepMind technology. If you see one AI-powered AV show in 2026, you’ll want to make it this one.

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