Jon Marius Aareskjold-Drecker

• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius & Zeiner-Henriksen, Hans T. (2026). LLMs and Custom GPTs as a Tool for Academic Research | 2 | Innovation. In Andersen, Claus Sohn; Gullö, Jan-Olof; Hepworth-Sawyer, Russ; Marrington, Mark; Paterson, Justin & Toulson, Rob (Ed.), Innovation in Music: Current Research Perspectives. Routledge. ISSN 9781032757858. p. 3–11. doi: 10.4324/9781003475675-2. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study explores the accuracy and usefulness of OpenAI’s large language models (LLMs), particularly focusing on a customized GPT model trained on a specific dataset of musicology research. The research compares the performance of the custom model against the general ChatGPT-4.o model in an academic setting. The customized GPT, tailored to retrieve information from a controlled set of scholarly articles, was tested by a group of musicology experts, including authors whose works were part of the dataset. Results indicate that the custom GPT generally provides more precise and research-based responses compared to the general model. However, issues such as hallucinations, inconsistent performance, and ethical concerns regarding copyright and the use of LLMs in academic work were observed. The study concludes that while customized GPTs can enhance academic research, their use should be approached with caution due to ongoing challenges in accuracy and ethical implications.

• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius & Brøvig, Ragnhild (2026). Hey Siri, Can You Write Me a Chipmunk Soul Track? A Snapshot of AI Tools Currently Used in Music Production. In Andersen, Claus Sohn; Gullö, Jan-Olof; Hepworth-Sawyer, Russ; Marrington, Mark; Paterson, Justin & Toulson, Rob (Ed.), Innovation in Music: Current Research Perspectives. Routledge. ISSN 9781032757858. doi: 10.4324/9781003475675-9. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article provides an overview of current AI-assisted tools used in music composition and production and demonstrate their application through research-based music production. By highlighting the diverse range of applications and levels of automation offered by AI tools, we nuance the discourse focused on AI-generated tracks and challenge the assumption that using AI necessarily equates to cheating. We demonstrate how musicians can harness AI to support their artistry without overshadowing human expression, ensuring that creativity and integrity remain at the forefront

• Brøvig, Ragnhild & Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2024). Vocal Chops: Another Human/Machine Hybrid. In Gullö, Jan-Olof; Hepworth-Sawyer, Russ; Paterson, Justin; Toulson, Rob & Marrington, Mark (Ed.), Innovation in Music: Cultures and Contexts. Routledge. ISSN 9781032611167. doi: 10.4324/9781003462101-8. Full text in Research Archive
• Brøvig, Ragnhild; Sandvik, Bjørnar Ersland & Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2022). Influence du traitement de plage dynamique sur le rythme perçu dans l’EDM. In Pierre, Couprie; Gohon, Kévin & Parent, Emmanuel (Ed.), La musique et la machine: Penser l'interaction dans les musiques électroniques. Presses Universitaires de Rennes. ISSN 9782753586857. p. 187–206. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  La musique concrète, la musique électroacoustique, les musiques mixtes, le Live Electronics et à leur suite les courants populaires de la disco, de la techno, du rap et de l’EDM, désignent des styles musicaux qui ont radicalement changé les manières de faire et d’écouter la musique. En créant des situations nouvelles d’interaction entre les musiciens, les publics et les innombrables machines qui peuplent leur univers, ces répertoires ont modifié en profondeur l’ontologie et l’esthétique du fait musical. Ce livre, qui rassemble des contributions de musicologues français et internationaux (USA, Norvège, Australie, Royaume- Uni), propose ainsi une traversée des musiques électroniques savantes et populaires, de Luigi Nono à David Guetta, de Philippe Manoury à Brain Damage. Si la musique a pu un temps être pensée comme le produit de l’activité d’un compositeur unique, la médiation de l’électronique remet en pleine lumière la nature profondément collaborative et interactive de tout fait musical. Telle est l’hypothèse qui fonde l’ambition théorique de cet ouvrage. Publié avec le soutien de l’UR APP de l’université Rennes 2, de RASM-CHCSC de l’université d’Évry Val d’Essonne et du RITMO de l’université d’Oslo.

• Brøvig-Hanssen, Ragnhild; Sandvik, Bjørnar; Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius & Danielsen, Anne (2021). The Organic Grid: Sound and Timing in Electronic Dance Music. Music Theory Spectrum. ISSN 0195-6167. doi: 10.1093/mts/mtab013. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Researchers have argued that temporal microdeviations from the metric grid, such as those produced by musicians in performance, are crucial to making a musical rhythm groovy and danceable. It is curious, then, that the music currently dominating the dance floor, “electronic dance music” or EDM, is typically characterized by grid-based rhythms. But is such a “mechanistic,” grid-based aesthetic necessarily devoid of microrhythmic nuance? In this article, we aim to show that the microrhythmic component of an engaging groove involves the manipulation of more than simply the onset locations of rhythmic events—the sonic features fundamentally contribute to shaping the groove as well. In particular, we seek to demonstrate that EDM producers, with their preference for a grid-based microtiming aesthetic, are very sensitive to and adept at manipulating such sonic features for expressive effect. Drawing on interviews with EDM producers, we show that producers are often concerned with both sonic and temporal features, as well as their interactions. We argue that sonic features are crucial to shaping groove and feel at the micro level of rhythm. Moreover, such features also tend to introduce an indirect microtiming aspect to the grid-based aesthetic of EDM through the ways in which they shape timing at the perceptual level.

• Brøvig-Hanssen, Ragnhild; Sandvik, Bjørnar; Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius & Danielsen, Anne (2021). A Grid in Flux: Sound and Timing in Electronic Dance Music. Music Theory Spectrum. ISSN 0195-6167. 44(1). doi: 10.1093/mts/mtab013. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Researchers have argued that temporal microdeviations from the metric grid, such as those producedby musicians in performance, are crucial to making a musical rhythm groovy and danceable. It is curious, then, that the music currently dominating the dance floor, “electronic dance music” or EDM, is typically characterized by grid-based rhythms. But is such a “mechanistic,” grid-based aesthetic necessarily devoid of microrhythmic nuance? In this article, we aim to show that the microrhythmic component of an engaging groove involves the manipulation of more than simply the onset locations of rhythmic events—the sonic features fundamentally contribute to shaping the groove as well. In particular, we seek to demonstrate that EDM producers, with their preference for a grid-based microtiming aesthetic, are very sensitive to and adept at manipulating such sonic features for expressive effect. Drawing on interviews with EDM producers, we show that producers are often concerned with both sonic and temporal features, as well as their interactions. We argue that sonic features are crucial to shaping groove and feel at the micro level of rhythm. Moreover, such features also tend to introduce an indirect microtiming aspect to the grid-based aesthetic of EDM through the ways in which they shape timing at the perceptual level.

• Brøvig-Hanssen, Ragnhild; Sandvik, Bjørnar Ersland & Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2020). Dynamic range processing and its influence on perceived timing in electronic dance music. Music Theory Online. 26(2), p. 1–13. doi: 10.30535/MTO.26.2.3. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In this article, we explore the extent to which dynamic range processing (such as compression and sidechain compression) influences our perception of a sound signal’s temporal placement in music. Because compression reshapes the sound signal’s envelope, scholars have previously noted that certain uses of sidechain compression can produce peculiar rhythmic effects. In this article, we have tried to interrogate and complicate this notion by linking a description of the workings and effects of dynamic range processing to empirical findings on the interaction between sound and perceived timing, and by analyzing multitracks and DAW project files, as well as released audio files, of selected EDM tracks. The analyses of the different EDM tracks demonstrated that sidechain compression affects the music in many possible ways, depending on the settings of the compressors’ parameters, as well as the rhythmic pattern and the sonic complexity of both the trigger signal and the sidechained signal. Dynamic range processing’s impact on groove and perceived timing indicates, in line with previous findings, that sound and timing interact in fundamental ways. Because of this interaction, then, we cannot limit ourselves to technical terms that describe how particular effects are achieved if we want to fully understand the grooves that are characteristic of EDM or other music. We must also consider how listeners experience these effects.

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• Encinas, Enrique; Jahr, Ida; Bull, Synne Tollerud; Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius & Chattopadhyay, Budhaditya (2026). New Embeddings #01 (Nå telte han deg også): Participatory Grouping through Machine-Learning Embeddings. doi: https:/ne01.craitr.no/. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Participatory workshop and installation at the opening conference of MishMash Centre for AI and Creativity. Thirty-eight participants were grouped by a machine-learning model on the basis of voice notes recorded in four languages; the installation displayed the model's representation of the audience and documented participants' refusals, making the limits of algorithmic grouping a subject of collective discussion.

• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2026). 330 ungdommer samlet til KI-dag på UiT. doi: https:/uit.no/nyheter/artikkel/kortnytt?p_document_id=929920. Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2026). KI-dag på UiT: Slik kan elevene bruke det godt – og kritisk – NRK Troms og Finnmark. Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2026). News story about KI-dagen on Distriktsnyheter Nordnytt - NRK TV. [TV]. NRK. Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2026). KI-dag for videregående skoler. Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2026). Atmos vs Ambisonics: Creative Differences in Immersive Formats. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Mixing in immersive formats, designed to place the listener inside a three-dimensional sound environment rather than in front of a left–right stereo image, allows for many creative opportunities beyond traditional stereo mixing. However, there are different immersive formats, each with its own strength and challenges. This paper/performance/workshop explores the creative differences between mixing in Atmos, created by Dolby Laboratories and used in movie theatres and commercial 3D audio distribution, and ambisonics, a format that is used extensively in electro-acoustic music and VR. The music used in the paper/performance/workshop is a sonification of Aurora Borealis/Northern Lights. With the use of positional signals from an antenna array positioned in Kilpisjärvi in Northern Finland, soundscapes and composed music are projected into an 3D audio dome and create a real-time sonic experience of the movement of the Aurora on the sky over the arctic parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland. These compositions exist in both ambisonics and Atmos, and in the paper/performance/workshop the workflow and creative opportunities inherent in the formats are explored, along with a discussion of the challenges encountered when working in the different 3D arrays. Participants are invited to explore the immersive mixes and remix the performances in real-time.

• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2026). Impact of AI Tools on Music Production. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Music production and songwriting tools based on machine learning and artificial intelligence are part of every producer’s toolkit. Whether it is the use of stem splitters to clean up tracks, algorithms for mastering, or generative systems for sound creation and lyric manipulation, these tools have found a place in the modern music studio. However, the rapid introduction of such tools raises many questions. Do they improve the creative process? Are algorithms trained with sufficient awareness of juridical and ethical challenges? Is the use of training data in accordance with existing laws and practices regarding copyright and patents? Do these tools affect artistic output, making music better—or less diverse? Is AI making music creation more accessible by lowering technical and artistic thresholds and enabling non-experts to perform tasks that previously required specialist skills? Based on interviews, experimental work, and a literature review, this paper explores which AI-based tools are used in contemporary music production, how they are employed, and how they influence the creative process. Technical, juridical, and ethical aspects of different types of AI-driven tools are discussed. The paper concludes with an analysis of how new workflows may affect revenue streams for music producers, songwriters, and artists.

• Encinas, Enrique; Jahr, Ida; Bull, Synne Tollerud; Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius & Chattopadhyay, Budhaditya (2026). NE #00: New Embeddings of/for Artistic Intelligence. doi: https:/ars.electronica.art/negotiatinghumanity/en/view/ne-00-new-embeddings-of-for-artistic-intelligence-39f38ddb450c81b5a2e1e4b478396502/. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  NE #00: New Embeddings of/for Artistic Intelligence was a participatory workshop presented at Ars Electronica 2026 that explored how new forms of artistic intelligence might emerge when artists, institutions, scholars, scientists, and technologists organise around shared needs rather than disciplinary boundaries. The workshop asked how AI might support, rather than determine, such collaborations, and how alternative infrastructures for artistic and interdisciplinary practice might be developed. Structured as an exchange rather than a conventional presentation, participants articulated what they need in relation to generative AI, what they can contribute, and what they refuse. These contributions included conceptual approaches, technical and institutional infrastructures, artistic methods, knowledge, and resources. Participants clustered around points of convergence and translated these into concrete offers, requests, and possible collaborations recorded in a shared ledger. The workshop initiated the New Embeddings series as an experimental format for building interdisciplinary connections around artistic intelligence and generative AI through collective exchange and the formation of new “neighborhoods” of practice.

• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius & Mittner, Lilli (2025). AI, Arts & Humanities. doi: https:/uit.no/tavla/artikkel/916203/ai_arts_humanities?p_document_id=916203. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  What are the possible roles of the arts & humanities in research initiatives on artificial intelligence?

• Brøvig, Ragnhild & Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2025). AI and Humanities: The Role of AI-Based Tool in Music Production. Full text in Research Archive
• Brøvig, Ragnhild & Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2024). Hey Siri, what are the royalty splits of the song you wrote for me? Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius & Brøvig, Ragnhild (2024). Paper: Hey Siri, can you write me a chipmunk soul track? A snapshot of AI tools currently used in music production. Full text in Research Archive
• Jones, Andy; Brøvig, Ragnhild & Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2023). Scientists explain why Seeb's remix of I Took A Pill In Ibiza has racked up 1.7 billion Spotify streams: it's all down to "micro-rhythmic nuances", hard work... and playing left-handed. [Internet]. MusicRadar.com . Full text in Research Archive
• Roberts, Rachel; Brøvig, Ragnhild & Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2023). Scientific research uncovers why Seeb’s I Took A Pill In Ibiza remix is hugely popular. [Internet]. MusicTech.com. Full text in Research Archive
• Brøvig-Hanssen, Ragnhild; Johansson, Mats Sigvard; Sandvik, Bjørnar; Jacobsen, Eirik; Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius & Danielsen, Anne (2022). Musical rhythm. Qualitative investigations. Full text in Research Archive
• Brøvig, Ragnhild & Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2022). Vocal Chops: Another Human/Machine Hybrid. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Mainstream popular music has, over the past decade, been characterized by the rhythmic and weird-sounding vocal effect known as vocal chops—short vocal samples that are juxtaposed, rearranged, and repitched to create hooks and effects. The samples are usually manipulated (transposed, formant shifted, or cut up, for example) to create a hybrid human-syntheziser sound and rearranged into a melody with abrupt and often unexpected transitions between the sounds. In this paper, we will first explore the historical origins of vocal chops, framing this effect as the most recent incarnation of producers’ and listeners’ enduring fascination with vocal manipulation. Drawing on ecological affordance theory, we will further speculate on what it is that people find so fascinating about this effect. We will also demonstrate various approaches to creating vocal chops and the various effects that these approaches produce, arguing that the intense exploration of this technique in recent years has led to its normalization, and to its progressively subtler integration into music productions.

• Norbakken, Berit; Davidsen, Geir; Lien, Lars; Eide, Bjørk-Guinevere Kinsella; Nystabakk, Kåre Solmund Sætrevik & Slåttsveen, Marius [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2021). Konsert: ARcTic Susatin Festspillene i Nord-Norge, doi: https:/www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1456892/1729696. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  ARcTic Sustains konsert under Festspillene i Nord-Norge var ensemblets andre store produksjon i VAPO – prosjektet. Festspillene, som er Nord-Norges største og mest profilerte festival, er opptatt av spørsmål om hva det vil si å være i Nord, hva og hvem som definerer Nord og hva som er i framtiden for Nord.

• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2021). Nearly Invisible Stitches - Nils Petter Molvær. Full text in Research Archive
• Brøvig-Hanssen, Ragnhild; Sandvik, Bjørnar & Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2021). Slow Attacks, Peculiar Accents, and Pumping Grooves: Perceptual Interaction between Timing and Intensity in Music Production. Full text in Research Archive
• Bischoff, Friederike; Lien, Lars; Solset, Berit; Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius; Borch, Rolf-Steinar & Eliassen, Ingrid [Show all 12 contributors for this article] (2021). ARcTic Sustain. Full text in Research Archive
• Davidsen, Geir; Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius; Lien, Lars; Bischoff, Friederike; Eliassen, Ingrid & Kloster, Jens Christian [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2020). Gæ. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Gœ er et gammelnorsk ord og betyr et slags værlag, nysnø eller sporsnø. Nysnø og sporsnø gir mulighet for å lete etter og – dersom de eksisterer – finne og følge spor. Stykket gœ handler om en form for søken der sporsnø kan være til hjelp for å finne.

• Davidsen, Geir; Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius; Lien, Lars; Bischoff, Friederike; Nystabakk, Solmund & Kloster, Jens Christian [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2020). NORTEM. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Nortem is the sonic exploration of a journey northward. The source material from which the instrumental and electronics parts are constructed is a series of recordings at each degree of latitude made from my journey between California (lat 38) to Alaska (lat 63). Using software the most important pitch material is extracted. This extracted source material is then shaped into musical lines for the instruments. To the instrumental score, both live and fixed electronic are added. The fixed material blends recorded source material with synthesis. The performative electronics process the live instrumental material and provide an additional instrumental component with a broader timbral range than other instruments. The electronics performer controls his instrument through two cameras and a pad controller with touch and position sensitivity. The ultimate goal of Nortem is the presentation of a series of aesthetic sonic situations that both recount the experience of my personal journey north and provide an acoustic space for the listener to consider and experience the idea of a journey northward.

• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2020). Finn ut hva denne høyttalerriggen og nordlysmålinger fra Kilpis har til felles. [Journal]. iTromso.no. Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2020). Christel Alsos - Live fra Oslo Konserthus 1. Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2020). Under lyset - musikk og lyddesign. Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2020). Sound of Light. Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius; Wittner, Otto Jonassen & Engum, Trond (2020). Bandøving fra soverommet? Khrono.no. ISSN 1894-8995. Full text in Research Archive
• Bischoff, Friederike; Lien, Lars; Davidsen, Geir; Kloster, Jens Christian; Eliassen, Ingrid & Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2020). ARcTic Sustain under Nordlysfestival - Ideen om Nord. Full text in Research Archive
• Brøvig-Hanssen, Ragnhild & Aareskjold, Jon Marius (2019). Vocal Chops and it's aesthetics. Full text in Research Archive
• Brøvig-Hanssen, Ragnhild & Aareskjold, Jon Marius (2019). Vocal chops and Rhythm. Full text in Research Archive
• Brøvig-Hanssen, Ragnhild & Aareskjold, Jon Marius (2019). Vocal Chops and its Aesthetics. Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold, Jon Marius (2018). Sound of Light. Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold, Jon Marius (2018). Sound of Light - Installasjon på Nordlysobservatoriet (NOBS). Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold, Jon Marius (2018). Torun Eriksen - Luxury and Waste. Full text in Research Archive
• Brøvig-Hanssen, Ragnhild; Aareskjold, Jon Marius & Sandvik, Bjørnar (2018). EDM Producers' Reflections on Groove. Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold, Jon Marius (2017). Revelation For Personal Use. Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold, Jon Marius (2016). Jarrett vs Molvær: Developments in jazz music production. Full text in Research Archive
• Aareskjold, Jon Marius (2015). Everything You Own In The Box: Ontologies of creative ownership in Beyonce's Irreplaceable. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In most of the developed world, the music industry acknowledges two types of intellectual property – the composition and the sound recording. This distinction has served creators well for more than a century, but it is based on the assumption that the composition and recording processes are separate creative acts. In the late 20th and early 21st century, record production has frequently merged these practices, and many contemporary ‘songwriters’ create the composition and the sound recording simultaneously. This song/track paradigm leads to potential challenges of identifying creative contributions that has implications for ownership of copyright and authorial attribution. This paper discusses the song/track conundrum through a case study of Beyoncé’s ‘Irreplaceable’ (2007), tracking its creation from an initial sound recording of a guitar chord pattern through to a finished commercial release, complete with six author credits. Creative strategies will be identified through interviews with participants and researcher­practitioner contributions (one of the presenters will share his first­hand experience of the studio sessions in which Irreplaceable was created). Contemporary studio­based songwriting practices such as toplining and beatmaking will be analysed in detail, and participants’ creative roles will be compared to the composer credits and royalty splits that were eventually agreed. This case study will be used to frame the philosophical, moral and commercial questions that arise in situations where composition and production may be creatively indistinguishable from each other, and to discuss ways in which the song/track distinction might be nuanced to enable all creators to receive appropriate reward or recognition for their work.

• Aareskjold, Jon Marius (2014). Northern Lights. Full text in Research Archive
• Lund, Niels Windfeld; Davidsen, Geir & Aareskjold, Jon Marius (2013). Teknologi i støpeskjeen. Podium. FOU-magasin fra Universitetet i Tromsø, Det kunstfaglige fakultet. ISSN 1890-5005. p. 12–14. Full text in Research Archive
• Bresler, Zack; Hawkins, Stan & Aareskjold-Drecker, Jon Marius (2022). Immersed in Pop! Excursions into Compositional Design. Universitetet i Agder. ISSN 9788284270616. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Recent changes in consumer audio and music technology and distribution - for example the addition of 3D audio formats such as Dolby Atmos to music streaming services, the recent release of “Spatial Audio” on Apple and Beats products, the proliferation of musical content in virtual reality and 360º videos, etc. - have reignited a public discourse on concepts of immersion and interactivity in popular music and media. This raises questions and necessitates a deepening of popular musicological discourse in these areas. This thesis thus asks: what is the relationship between so-called immersive media and immersive experience? How are immersive and interactive experiences of audiovisual popular music compositionally designed? And to what degree do interpretations of immersion and interactivity in popular music imply agency on part of the listener/viewer? To address these questions, Bresler has authored or co-authored four articles and book chapters on music in immersive and interactive media with a focus on compositional design and immersion in pop music. In the framing chapter, these articles are contextualized through the coining of the term immersive staging, which is a framework for understanding how the perceived relationship between the performer and listener is mediated through technology, performativity, audiovisual compositional design, and aesthetics. Additionally, the chapter makes a case for the hermeneutic methodologies employed throughout.

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