Affiliation: Then Try This
Contributions:
Alex McLean is a musician, software artist and researcher based in Sheffield UK, working as research fellow as part of the independent, open access studio Then Try This. His research explores 'algorithmic patterns', investigating heritage algorithms across culture, and how they can inform the new technologies he makes as part of his creative practice. Alex has been performing his own algorithmic music since the year 2000, both solo and in a range of collaborations, including at No Bounds, Glastonbury, Sonar, Club Transmediale, Ars Electronica, Sonic Acts and Lovebytes festivals. He is an active organiser across the digital arts, including co-founding and curating the AlgoMech festival of Algorithmic and Mechanical Movement in Sheffield, co-founding the TOPLAP live coding and Algorave algorithmic dance movements, and creating the TidalCycles live coding environment. He co-edited the Oxford Handbook of Algorithmic Music in 2018, and co-authored "Live Coding: A User's Manual" published open access in November 2022 by MIT Press.