An interactive installation about interpersonal synchrony 

Two people sit face-to-face on a pair of bicycles that have a shared front wheel. They can pedal on the bikes, and their pedaling determines  – together – the music generated and played from loudspeakers. The riders’ goal is not to race – but to move in synchrony. The better they synchronize their cycling, the richer the music becomes: their riding tempo determines the beat, and as they ride in synchrony, instrument parts are added. When they move out of sync, the instruments become slightly out of tune and gradually disappear.

Two Riders is part of a research project about the ability of people to move together, experience “togetherness” and increase their interpersonal connection. It builds on work in social psychology and neuro-psychology concerning motor synchronization, and introduces the novel concept of real-time feedback to synchronization.

Created by Michal Rinott, Shachar Geiger and composer-coder Giori Politi.