Eloi Maduell and Santi Vilanova have been the driving force behind Playmodes Studio since 2006. This digital craft workshop in rural Catalonia explores the interplay between art and science, philosophy, music, and technological research. Their work often takes on impossible forms: light sculptures, audiovisual instruments, projections onto the stars, or the sonification of pebbles and twigs.

Underpinning all these techniques and formats is the impetus behind their projects: creating an impure, minimalist, and abstract language of visual music. Handmade only with tools—both software and hardware—that they develop themselves, these works reflect thought turned into solder and open-source code.

Over nearly 20 years, Playmodes’ works have been exhibited in festivals and museums on all continents, from Shanghai to New York, Sydney to Amsterdam, and Barcelona to Medellín. Specialized editors have published their algorithmic graphic work. Human or cybernetic interpreters have played their music in all types of venues. They have won international music, art, and design awards, and several art spaces, institutions, and collectors worldwide treasure their pieces.