callummmurray / entropy

Generative digital music

Entropy

Generative digital music

My recent enquiry into the nature of the aesthetic experience, has led to the creation of the work 'Entropy'. The work is 15 minutes, 37 seconds in length, and is formed from the manipulated sound of a piano. The gradual distortions of sound as the piece progresses, replicate the process of entropy, where a system transforms from order to disorder over time. The work was composed under the supervision of Dr Paul Newland, and Dr Nye Parry. Since the work is created using Python code, and random data from the random.org API, I hope that the listener will find some aesthetic attraction towards the work, yet be simultaneously alienated from the conditions of its production. Just as the timbre of the processed piano becomes more distorted, and has higher entropy over time, so does the structure itself. The degree of random disorder increases over time in all aspects, prompting the listener to consider the interrelation of micro-scale material and macro-scale structure. The work is intended for digital realisation only, meaning that it is unperformable. The ephemeral and immaterial nature of the work render it a critique on the commodification of art objects.

The project is built using the random.org Python API: https://docs.python.org/3/library/random.html

Full programme notes can be found on my website (coming soon)