The Ableton Trail.
An exploration of musical inspiration and creative lineage.

Discovering the interconnected world of music creators through the Most Interesting Person methodology.

“So many great things came out of the movie, from imagery, content, editing through to unique performances and creative insights.”

Niklas Kröger
Head of Production, Ableton

Key Insights

Creating your own space

A recurring theme throughout the trail was the importance of artists creating their own spaces for expression when existing structures don't accommodate their vision. From Jace Clayton establishing new platforms for global music to Deantoni Parks developing his unique percussion techniques, each artist emphasized carving out personal creative territory.

Deep Individuality

Each artist in the trail has developed a distinctive voice that is immediately recognizable. Sougwen's description of Daedelus as "his own genre" applies to all the artists in the chain—they've each established such a unique approach that they effectively create their own artistic category.

Cross-genre pollination

The trail revealed how musical innovation often happens at the intersection of different genres and traditions. Each artist draws from diverse influences, creating new hybrid forms that transcend traditional categorization. This cross-pollination creates rich, unexpected musical landscapes.

Collective Experience

Starting with Sougwen's observation about music as a shared experience, the trail explores how music creates communal spaces. Unlike visual art, which may be experienced individually, music has a unique power to bring people together in shared moments of appreciation and understanding.

Personal Necessity

For all the artists in the trail, music creation is not merely entertainment but a personal necessity. Daedelus described music making as "solving a riddle that was laid into us long ago," while Deantoni Parks compared music to oxygen—something essential to life itself.

Technology & Tradition

The trail highlights the dynamic relationship between technological innovation and musical tradition. From Sougwen's AI collaborations to Lee "Scratch" Perry's revolutionary studio techniques, these artists all navigate the intersection of new tools and established practices.

Follow the tail.

  • Sougwen Chung

    TIME100 Most Influential People in AI, Sougwen Chung is an artist working at the intersection of technology and drawing. Her work explores the relationship between humans and machines, particularly through collaborative drawing with robotic systems. For Sougwen, music represents a powerful form of collective experience, different from visual arts in its ability to create shared spaces.

    "Its impact and its power begins as a personal experience but then it also is this kind of cultural artifact around which people can come together and just share in that interpretation of the same form"

  • Daedelus

    Nominated by Sougwen Chung, Daedelus (Alfred Darlington) is an electronic music producer known for his eclectic style that spans multiple genres. His innovative approach to performance and production has established him as a unique voice in electronic music, with Sougwen describing him as "his own genre."

    "My job as a music maker is to not entertain you. We're here to self-satisfy. We're here to feed our own addiction. We're here to somehow solve a riddle that was laid into us long ago."

  • Jace Clayton

    Nominated by Daedelus, Jace Clayton is a writer, musician, and DJ who has been instrumental in bringing global music to wider audiences. Through his performances, writing, and book "Uproot," he explores how technology has changed the landscape of global music production and distribution.

    "The more urgent your art is the more it needs to be in the world the less likely it is that structures already in the world can accommodate that. You really do need to create your own space."

  • Deantoni Parks

    Nominated by Jace Clayton, Deantoni Parks is a drummer, composer, and electronic music producer known for his innovative approach to rhythm and performance. His work blurs the line between acoustic and electronic music, creating a unique approach to percussion that has influenced countless musicians.

    "Why we need music is similar to why we need oxygen and food for energy. It's built in our programming. I mean it's something we came here with, we can do nothing about. And I like that."

  • Lee "Scratch" Perry

    The final nomination in our trail, Lee "Scratch" Perry was a legendary Jamaican producer and artist who revolutionized reggae and dub music. His experimental studio techniques and visionary approach to sound transformed music production and continue to influence artists across genres to this day.

    "My music is life itself."

The Ableton Trail: Transcript

[Music playing]

Sougwen Chung

My name is Sougwen Chung. I am an artist working in technology and drawing. I was thinking a lot about what music as an art form meant to me.

Its impact and its power begins as a personal experience but then it also is this kind of cultural artifact around which people can come together and just share in that interpretation of the same form.

It's different from visual arts in a certain way because you don't feel like you're inhabiting a painting together but with audio and sound you do.

The most inspiring person to me is Daedelus. I got a chance to see him perform and sort of discover this musician not only at the top of his game and the height of his craft but someone who's also very much in his own lane. He's his own genre.

[Music transition]

Daedelus

The audience and I are in a spiral. They are leading at times and then I at times, and then at times I'm giving forth ideas looking them in the whites of their eyes and trying to convince them of my soul and they might have their say.

My job as a music maker is to not entertain you. We're here to self-satisfy. We're here to feed our own addiction. We're here to somehow solve a riddle that was laid into us long ago.

I am so moved by the chance to pass on this project. I really would love it if you spoke to Jace Clayton, aka DJ Rupture. There's people of a spirit that when they walk into a room you are moved. He's asked questions both in his music and in his mixes and his book "Uproot" that to me speak of my own conundrum but he does it much more eloquently.

[Music transition]

Jace Clayton (DJ Rupture)

Short answer to what I do is I make music and I write.

So with Jeanann Dara, viola player, I said "Can you play viola and I will just read A through E of the stylesheet from my book: Ableton Live, Acid, Software, Afrobeat, Afterparty." So it's a sort of playful look into this book I just wrote.

I grew up DJing in Boston in the late '90s and it was a very conservative music scene. If you wanted to listen to hip-hop you go to the rap club. If you wanted house, you go to the house club. And so very early on I realized as a DJ, in order to do the sets I like to do, I need to create my own space to accommodate this.

The more urgent your art is, the more it needs to be in the world, the less likely it is that structures already in the world can accommodate that. You really do need to create your own space.

Music always flows across borders and genres and eras. So at its core, music is very much about being in the present and trying to manifest something beautiful in a way that can be shared with other people.

[Music transition]

Deantoni Parks

The most inspiring person is Deantoni Parks. He's a really incredible drummer, percussionist, sampler and arranger. It's a wonder when you find someone who's really encountered their form and locked it in and made it theirs.

Why we need music is similar to why we need oxygen and food for energy. It's built in our programming. I mean it's something we came here with, we can do nothing about. And I like that.

My music is life itself. There is no separation between what I do musically and how I live. That might sound crazy but it's true.

I discovered my sound through time. Time was my biggest asset. Time helps us figure out many different things. In this case it was the prime element to getting to the place I am right now.

The most inspiring person to me in music is no doubt Lee Scratch Perry. I'm searching for a little bit of what he has attained over his lifetime. He's given me confidence to be abstract.

[Applause, music fades out]

Ready to start your own trail?

Discover the hidden connections in your industry and create authentic content that resonates with your audience.