A prehistory of Live Coding
TOPLAP CD
Four years ago, in a moky bar in Hamburg, Toplap was formed -- an
organisation dedicated to promoting live algorithm programming. So far,
so niche. Defying expectation however, it has since exploded into a
fully functioning electronic music scene, with hundreds of practitioners
improvising with live coding languages such as SuperCollider and ChucK.
That is, writing, rewriting and modifying music software on the fly
during performance (often with the rapidly changing code projected on a
screen).
The cream of this scene's live recorded output has now been collated
on Toplap's inaugural release. Despite superficially geeky origins --
many performers are coders first, musicians second -- the music here is
stacked with depth, guts and soul. Opener "Water Surface" by Ron
Kuivila is a featherlight study, shimmering with static broken by bursts
of bee-like feedback. In contrast, The Hub's "Hub x 6" is an
analogue-style fun fest of farty trumpet bursts and spaceship noise.
RedFrik's ticklish "Aug 19" is Luke Vibert-style acid, but with enough
rhythmic aberrations to take it beyond twee. "20060401folded" by scene
forerunners Slub is a compelling, edgy slice of rollercoaster Techno.
In truth, it's hard to believe much of the music here is essentially
freewheeling software reined in by finger tapping humans. Live coding
has so far flourished, but under a bushel. Perhaps it's time the rest
of us got a look in.
Susanna Glaser
Received on Wed May 28 2008 - 10:14:40 BST