Statement of Purpose

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to play a 1945 Gibson guitar in a small Portland guitar shop. The shop had priced the instrument at almost $15,000. Having no intention (or ability) of spending that kind of money, I gingerly took the instrument down from the wall and began to play it. It was the best guitar I have ever played. Each location on its neck had changed the timbre in complex ways; a property that shiny new Gibsons and Martins do not replicate. I find this instrument interesting for the following reasons: 1. It has been a functional instrument for over 70 years. 2. It had been repeatedly broken and repaired. 3. It had acquired unique timbrel characteristics that would be difficult if not impossible to replicate in a new instrument.

The vast majority of electronic instruments do not exhibit these properties. I believe our electronic instruments are prevented from developing the qualities above by a cycle of obsolescence and replacement that is endemic to our society’s relationship with consumer electronics. Given that the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions and other ecological harm occurs in the material extraction and manufacturing phases of the product life-cycle for electronic devices (1), this cycle of obsolescence poses real danger as we attempt to navigate compound climate and ecological crises. (2) I believe there is an opportunity to create lasting cultures of electronic music that are compatible with surviving the climate crisis and that the creation of such cultures will serve as valuable working examples as we attempt to transform all aspects of our society to meet our times. This is my hope for studying in the University of Michigan’s Performing Arts Technology department: that I might one day be able to contribute to the creation of an electronic music permaculture.

Academic and Research Goals

When I borrow the word permaculture and apply it to electronic music, I aim to describe a culture of electronic music that is compatible with surviving the climate crisis and resilient against the disruptions (economic, social, and physical) that are already accompanying this crisis. In order to create this kind of permaculture, I believe that we must work to make electronic instruments that last a long time, are repairable/modifiable, built with technologies that respect the freedom of their end-users, and maintained by communities of music intentionally built to include and connect people from diverse backgrounds and challenge systems of privilege. If an instrument can be easily repaired and modified, it is much less likely to be replaced by a new instrument, preventing the majority of ecological harm caused by its use. It is essential for these instruments to be built with free (libre) hardware/software as this allows for the end-user to have the rights necessary to do what they wish with their instrument without risking violating “terms of service” or other restrictions on repair or reverse engineering. Adoption of these tools and practices will only be possible through new communities that can provide support and educational resources. Community is critical for maintaining knowledge surrounding the repair of technology. Community is also critical for our resilience against coming disruption. The current status quo (i.e. ignoring the crisis) depends on ignoring or treating vast categories of people as disposable. The community of a permaculture must then be as inclusive as possible and seek to make meaningful relationships between people from diverse backgrounds. Any of these aspects (longevity, freedom, and community) is interesting in isolation but I believe all must work in concert in order to be effective. The most inspiring example of this kind of work, to me, is the birth of the Algorave scene. Algorave began in the UK and grew from the TOPLAP society for livecoded music. A portmanteau of algorithm and rave, the word Algorave describes a dance party where performers improvise and execute musical code. The instruments and culture that have formed around these parties also combine the elements of electronic music permaculture that I named above. Much of the software used in Algorave can be run on old or low-power computers. All of the tools used by Algoravers are open-source. Algoraves themselves, and the online communities that surround them, have taken great pains to be intentional about what behavior is and is not acceptable in the community. Careful moderation, codes of conduct, and educational events that prioritize those who are underrepresented, go a long way toward making all feel welcome and safe at events. (4) This Algorave culture is attempting to intentionally meet our moment, synthesizing culture and technology. I hope that by studying and working in the Performing Arts Technology program at U-M that I can contribute to further examples of permaculture through the following means: by increasing by my skills (as an artist, engineer, and musician), through direct exploration of the above topics through projects and research, and most importantly, through dialogue with an engaged and collaborative community of peers and mentors. Long-term Goals I hope to one day make electronic instruments that will make beautiful sound for 100 years or more and that my work will be useful to those attempting to adapt our broader culture in order to ensure our survival. Preparation I believe that the experiences of my life have prepared me well for this course of study and that I have unique experience and expertise to offer including professional software development skills, mathematical background, and leadership experience. As an undergrad, I majored in Physics. Physics taught me valuable mathematical skills and problem solving methodologies. Despite never being the most intuitive mathematician, I was able to compensate with tenacity. I also studied music, taking courses in music theory, composition, and jazz history. I was selected to take part in a Ford/Knight research project that sought to make a review of the field of Music Emotion and Neuroscience. Most importantly, I got the opportunity to take “Composing With Computers”. In that class I was exposed to a wide variety of electronic music, ranging from early electro-acoustic and experimental work to rock, pop, and techno. This class also introduced me to the music programming environment MaxMSP. Exposure to MaxMSP simultaneously ignited a passion for software development and generative music which I have pursued ever since. For the past 7 years, I have worked at Ann Arbor-based software firm Menlo Innovations. Menlo is a highly collaborative environment where engineers, designers, and quality advocates work in pairs, sharing a keyboard and mouse to accomplish their tasks. Menlo uses pairing to facilitate transfer of knowledge through the team. This constant knowledge transfer is a mitigation strategy for the business risk that is incurred when any one engineer or designer becomes a “tower of knowledge” concerning a particular project or technical skill. To ensure that no individual becomes a “tower”, Menlo rotates pair partners every week. Every month or so, one team member from each project is rotated to a new project and is thrust into a new language or business domain. At Menlo, everything you learn, you are expected to teach. When the team notices that an individual has become an especially good teacher, they may, by consensus, decide to promote that person. Team members at all levels and roles participate in promotion, hiring, and (in the rare case that it is necessary) firing team members. I thrived in this environment. With the help of my peers, I was able to learn Test Driven Development, Java, Javascript, Python, SQL, C#, and more. In addition to Software Development, I was given the opportunity to try my hand at Project Management, High-Tech Anthropology® (a role that is a cross between UX researcher, designer, and business analyst), and business culture change consulting. With the guidance and encouragement of my teammates, I was able to quickly rise to a senior position in the company and offer the team the unique ability to switch roles as business demands changed. As a senior team member at Menlo, I was asked to lead in an environment that eschews hierarchy and values the performance of the team over individual performance. My performance was measured based on my ability to raise up those around me. During the annual “Tech Trek” event in Ann Arbor, I met Joe Bauer and Bill Van Loo. Together, along with Nick Gaydos, Dan Blades, and Jason Engling, we founded North Coast Modular Collective (NCMC). This organization, which we are in the process of turning into a 501c3 non-profit, aims “increase the skill, knowledge, and accessibility of electronic music artistry through the development of music, instruments, and community.” We host community educational events, provide opportunities for electronic music performance, and design and build open-source music hardware. We are currently designing an open-source modular hardware synthesizer called the bridge system. The system is designed to be built at minimal cost, by people with no prior experience in electronics. Each module gradually increases the build difficulty providing a “bridge” to DIY synth knowledge. We hope that this system, or components of it, could be used in educational settings for students of all ages to increase the accessibility to skills and tools of DIY and electronic music. So far, we have completed beta versions of 6 modules in this system. In addition to the projects that I have participated in with NCMC, I have completed my own music technology projects, teaching myself basic digital signal processing in C++ and completing a VST synthesizer plugin (Telegraph: Chaotic Resonance Synthesizer) in 2021. Since being exposed to MaxMSP, I have used music projects as a means to study programming and programming projects as an excuse to study composition. In my spare time, I have taught myself Pure Data, Supercollider, Tidalcycles and other music composition and sound synthesis environments. I have also been active as an artist, completing two albums as one half of the experimental pop duo Mirror Monster, and two for my techno-based xinniw project. I have regularly performed, playing at Dally In The Alley, Wayne State, The Blind Pig, and the Ann Arbor District Library.

Community Impact

My past experiences give me a unique perspective and a valuable set of professional skills that would be useful in the aid of research projects. I have strong skills as a software engineer, project manager, and designer. I am as interested in the cultural aspects of music as well as the technical and appreciate a wide variety of music. I love to teach and collaborate. I thrive in environments where the success of the team is valued more than the success of any individual. I would bring all of these things to the community at U-M. Suitability of the Masters In Music Technology As I began researching graduate school as a means of furthering my goals in electronic music, I reached out to several professors in the Performing Arts Technology department who were gracious enough to meet with me to give me a better sense of the program. In meeting with them, I was pleased to discover the following: • passionate people who care deeply about, and genuinely seem to enjoy, teaching • an open-minded community that appreciates work made in both experimental and popular styles • a flexible program that often combines engineering and research with multi-media musical composition and live performance. Additionally, I found that faculty are conducting research projects that I find fascinating. Of particular interest to me is Dr. Gurevich’s research in instrument design, human instrument interaction, and network-based musical experiences, Dr. Granzow’s research in instrument design, digital fabrication, acoustics, and sound synthesis, and Dr. Çamcı’s research immersive audio experiences, world-making, and software design. Even in our short conversations, I gained valuable insight and encouragement in my aims to build electronic instruments that last and are sustainable. I believe that learning is best done in community and I know that the community at U-M would be of great value to me on my journey.

Bibliography E. D. Williams, "Revisiting energy used to manufacture a desktop computer: hybrid analysis combining process and economic input-output methods," IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, 2004. Conference Record. 2004, 2004, pp. 80-85, doi: 10.1109/ISEE.2004.1299692.

Kris De Decker, “The Monster Footprint of Digital Technology”, Low-tech Magazine, 2009. Web. https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2009/06/embodied-energy-of-digital-technology.html

Alex Maclean, Antonio Roberts, “Algorave : Code of Conduct”, Web. https://github.com/Algorave/algoraveconduct