As strange as at may seem, yes, I write music too. I compose algorithmic music which is music that comes from patterns created by mathematical models and structures, rather than the standard "Gee, a C-minor resolution would be nice here." I tweak the entire piece of music, rather than individual parts. And most of the time I don't know what the result will be until it's done.
And just how do I go about doing it?
1. I create a mathematical model and fiddle with it until something nifty emerges in a non-musical sense. This could be something as boring as examining part of the Mandelbrot set, or someting exotic like comparing the various patterns found in DNA strands of human T-Cells, protease protiens, and HIV-1 virus strands (see "Gnosus", below). All this initial fiddling is done using C on a DEC-station 3100 running Ultrix 4.3.
2. The resulting stuff (usually fairly large text files) is then transferred to my Mac (Performa 475, 33mhz, System 7.5.1) to be turned into MIDI code using Opcode's MAX. Further musical choices are made here, but the data remains essentially unaltered.
3. These MIDI instructions are then fed to my ancient but oh-so-friendly Yamaha FB-01 to be turned into 'music'. This is the first time that I actually hear what I am working on.
4. I then record the music and torture my friends and workmates by making them listen to it (Thanks, guys!).
My music has been called "disturbing" and "good driving music", which is about the best that any so-called avant-garde composer can hope for. Aside from making money off it, that is. I have yet to have any of my music released commercially. *sigh*
If you can stand the early works of Steve Reich and Philip Glass, you can probably stomach my work.
30 second sound clips of some of my work are now available for you to download and listen to (in .snd and .au format to keep most people happy).
"Gnosus" was a collaborative work by Thomas C. Waters (a visual artist) and myself. It was created for his one-man exhibition "Gnosus" in Washinton DC. The show concerned the relationships between various institutions and people who are HIV+. The music was played in the exhibit hall as background music, creating an 'atmosphere' for his visual artwork. This is the only piece of my work that has been played in a public setting for a paying audience.
"Emergent Systems" is a piece based on the fractal growth of plants. It's one of my favorite pieces, and I think the one that has the most hope of ever being accepted in "the real world."