(Th)e (E)mpathy (M)achine, or ThEM, explores the timbral possibilities created by the specific instrumental configurations of

Hypercube. Each unique combination of instruments is treated as a distinct sonic environment, or “sound world,” shaped by its

own internal logic and constraints. The work moves between these sound worlds, emphasizing contrast, friction, and

transformation rather than linear development.

Beneath this surface of timbral exploration lies a more pointed narrative: the mechanistic pressure placed on artists to continually

produce affect, connection, and empathy. In this framing, the artist is not only a conduit for expression, but a tool

—an empathy machine— gradually optimized, standardized, and exhausted by the very systems that demand emotional labor.