Evan X. Merz

Published in Hz Journal #18.

In this essay I am going to review the topic of creativity in algorithmic music [1], focusing on three perspectives on creativity offered by three groups of composers. The first section will review the definition of creativity offered by computational psychologist Margaret Boden. The second section will examine one possible measure of creativity. The next section will look at three different composers, their attitudes toward creativity and the way their algorithms embody those attitudes. Finally, I will critically examine the core questions that are being asked by algorithmic composers.

Creativity in Algorithmic Music3.

Shortly, Machine Song 1 will be performed at the CSUF New Music Festival 2013.

Shortly, two of my pieces will be performed at Cyborgs Posthuman Culture Show in Kamloops, BC.

I'm so pleased to announce the release of a new album of experimental electronic music called Transient.

Transient is a set of music that I wrote in the summer I moved from Chicago to San Jose. At the time, I was experimenting with custom algorithmic audio slicing and glitching software, and you can hear this on many of the tracks.

Here's a video of a recent performance of one of my pieces called To the Towers and the Satellites. Music composed by Evan X. Merz. Sculpture and Stage by Sudhu Tewari. Movement by Nuria Bowart and Shira Yaziv.