Improvisando software!…
Call for participation now out, with deadline on 14th April. Commissions and bursary available.
http://livecode.access-space.org/

When we improvise music, we are creating music while it is being performed. “Live Coding” is the creation of software while it is being executed; the software in turn generating music or video.

Thanks to dynamic programming languages, the live coder is able to modify and extend their program without restarts, their music and/or visual growing with the code that describes it. This way of working allows instant results for every sourcecode edit. Programming becomes a fast, creative process – expressive enough that a whole audio/visual performance may be created as software.

Live Coding began during the 1980s, primarily with FORTH and Lisp. In recent years new live coding environments and languages such as Chuck, Fluxus, Impromptu and SuperCollider 3 have appeared, with enthusiastic communities growing around them. Live Coding performances have also used PureData, Scheme, Perl, Haskell, Ruby, Python…

In early 2004 the “Temporary Organisation for the Promotion of Live Algorithm Programming” (TOPLAP) was formed to support open dialog between all live coders. Since its early beginnings in a smoky bar in Hamburg, TOPLAP has reached 178 members worldwide, gaining coverage in mass media and collaboratively organising several international meetings.

In 2005 Access Space initiated the L.O.S.S. project (http://loss.access-space.org) to support free music creativity and distribution. It featured a series of commissions leading to a Creative Commons licensed audio CD and repository website produced entirely with open source tools.

Continuing their series of LOSS commissions and events, Access Space have teamed up with TOPLAP and lurk to create a three day international festival, bringing live coding musicians and video artists together to explore and showcase new approaches in live performing and participatory arts.