4 ms·

This probably doesn't deserve it's own HN article, but seems highly appropriate for this thread; in 1998, an artist named "The User" released an album of music

This probably doesn't deserve it's own HN article, but seems highly appropriate for this thread; in 1998, an artist named "The User" released an album of music composed for dot matrix printers. The recording quality is outstanding, as are the compositions, so while it may not have the automatic familiarity of covering "The Eye of the Tiger", I would argue it is a superior piece of music, to which this is the link: https://staalplaatlabel.bandcamp.com/album/symphony-2-for-dot-matrix-printers https://staalplaatlabel.bandcamp.com/album/symphony-2-for-do...

germinalphrase 4y ago
I’ll toss Ryoji Ikeda into the mix for ‘interesting data music’. Dataplex (2005) is a fine place to start.
- meatsock 4y ago
  his 2017 release 'music for percussion' [1] and large and immersive video installations [2] are worth a look as well [1]: https://www.discogs.com/release/11738371-Ryoji-Ikeda-Eklekto-Music-For-Percussion https://www.discogs.com/release/11738371-Ryoji-Ikeda-Eklekto... [2]: https://youtu.be/omDK2Cm2mwo https://youtu.be/omDK2Cm2mwo
- wavepruner 4y ago
  what a great find, cheers!
marttt 4y ago
I was completely blown away when I found this years ago. I'm a kid of the early 1990s, and this was music on dot matrix printers. I just couldn't believe my ears when I first listened to the whole thing. I did some radio production back then and needed a soundtrack for a lecture by an eminent computer scientist from my country (he's got an oddball sense of humour, and he was approaching 90 at that time). Since our country is, well, poor as compared to Canada (where The User is from), the band was kind enough to allow me to use their composition free of charge (the initial fee they asked was well above my head). They sent me flac or wav files just like that. This still makes me feel warm when I think about that. Really nice people. Their "Symphony No 2" is also on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m43MkQgF9p0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m43MkQgF9p0 And on Vimeo (needs login): https://vimeo.com/16207657 https://vimeo.com/16207657 Might be their old webpage: http://www.undefine.ca/en/projects/symphony-for-dot-matrix-printers/symphony-2/ http://www.undefine.ca/en/projects/symphony-for-dot-matrix-p... Would be really interesting to have a look at the actual code that made the printers work. I wonder what language they used, etc.

germinalphrase 4y ago

I’ll toss Ryoji Ikeda into the mix for ‘interesting data music’. Dataplex (2005) is a fine place to start.

meatsock 4y ago
his 2017 release 'music for percussion' [1] and large and immersive video installations [2] are worth a look as well [1]: https://www.discogs.com/release/11738371-Ryoji-Ikeda-Eklekto-Music-For-Percussion https://www.discogs.com/release/11738371-Ryoji-Ikeda-Eklekto... [2]: https://youtu.be/omDK2Cm2mwo https://youtu.be/omDK2Cm2mwo
wavepruner 4y ago
what a great find, cheers!

marttt 4y ago

I was completely blown away when I found this years ago. I'm a kid of the early 1990s, and this was music on dot matrix printers. I just couldn't believe my ears when I first listened to the whole thing. I did some radio production back then and needed a soundtrack for a lecture by an eminent computer scientist from my country (he's got an oddball sense of humour, and he was approaching 90 at that time). Since our country is, well, poor as compared to Canada (where The User is from), the band was kind enough to allow me to use their composition free of charge (the initial fee they asked was well above my head). They sent me flac or wav files just like that. This still makes me feel warm when I think about that. Really nice people. Their "Symphony No 2" is also on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m43MkQgF9p0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m43MkQgF9p0 And on Vimeo (needs login): https://vimeo.com/16207657 https://vimeo.com/16207657 Might be their old webpage: http://www.undefine.ca/en/projects/symphony-for-dot-matrix-printers/symphony-2/ http://www.undefine.ca/en/projects/symphony-for-dot-matrix-p... Would be really interesting to have a look at the actual code that made the printers work. I wonder what language they used, etc.