Somewhat a sequel to a 2020 Valentine’s Day concert, Present Music’s “Avant Garden of Love (2nd Edition)” features a packed program fitting of its portmanteau name. There are pieces by leading contemporary composers such as Philip Glass and Steve Reich, and a whimsical work played with real vegetables – yes, really – with the help of Quasimodo Physical Theatre and some audience participation.
The crux of the lineup is a world premiere piece by “post-modern balladeer” Corey Dargel. “True love not pretend” explores artificial intelligence and its capacity to answer human questions about love. It’s inspired by Dargel’s own conversations with AI chatbots and his desire to understand even the oddest of perspectives. MilMag spoke with Dargel about what prompted this approach.
Tell us who you’d pick to be a Betty this year!
Your music often meshes comedy with vulnerability. What makes comedy such a good vessel to talk about something like love?
I think when people are together in a venue or an auditorium, listening to music together, experiencing art together, if you can make them laugh, that makes people feel connected to each other and to you. Audiences, I hope, laugh together and feel connected with each other. And I hope that the fact that I may have made them laugh makes them feel in ship with me as well as an artist.
Your newest piece, “true love not pretend,” explores the relationship between AI and love. What is your driving inspiration for this?
My songs try to approach love in many different ways and from different perspectives. I value empathy as a tool when I’m coming up with a new project, so I always try to find people whose experiences and behaviors I might not at first identify with, but then I try to find ways to identify with them. In this case, I cavalierly thought of what the most ridiculous person or entity to try and empathize with [is], and the idea of AI came to me. So, this is just a way for me to try and exercise an extreme version of empathy.
What kind of emotion do you hope to invoke in your audience throughout the show and even after?
I like to find different ways of looking at the same thing, or in this case, different ways of looking at love. I think as human beings, we struggle to define what love is. And when you take that question to a chatbot, it struggles even more. But it’s interesting the ways in which it tries to work around that struggle, the ways in which it tries to tell me where to find true love, even though it doesn’t understand or experience love. I hope the audience will be inspired by my desire to empathize with even the most extraordinary things and that they will also, in their lives, try to find new perspectives and new ways of looking at the same thing.
How would you describe your style of music, and why is it so important to you?
I would say I’m trying to mix the idioms of classical music and pop songs and in doing so, reach an audience that’s there to listen but also there to be entertained. I use a lot of humor in my songs. I try to be as earnest as I can as a songwriter and reveal some things about myself as well. I think it’s all about connection, really. I might be doing it in a more adventurous way than other singer-songwriters, but I hope that makes the experience richer for the listener.
Has your idea of love changed as you’ve gotten older, and has this change been reflected in your work?
I think as I’ve gotten older – big ideas like love and the meaning of life – I feel less certain about what I believe. When I see people who are really certain about their beliefs about these kinds of ideas, I feel more skeptical of that certainty. I’d rather embrace doubt than embrace certainty and misplaced faith in my own understanding of big ideas. I’m constantly searching and seeking.
What can audiences expect this weekend?
I think that they will be, first and foremost, entertained. I think that they’ll laugh and maybe cry a little bit and hopefully take something away that is profound. I was talking before about doubt and faith, so I think if people are interested in artificial intelligence, they might come away feeling a healthy sense of skepticism about its capacity to answer questions that we have. It’ll be a great way to spend a Valentine’s Day evening, whether they come Friday or Saturday. They can avoid the crowded restaurants and instead go to a crowded concert where people are more likely to interact with you and connect with you.
“Avant Garden of Love (2nd Edition)” will take place at Jan Serr Studio on Feb. 13 and 14.
