Restoring the first recording of computer music (2016)

Listening to the piece at the end of the article is somehow incredibly exciting. Aside from the fact that I'm deeply interested in digital music synthesis, just the fact that this recording exists and you can literally hear the human element and reaction to it at the time is just such a wonderful feeling. A lot of modern technology gets a (somewhat justified) bad rap, but things like this where you can have that strong human connection nearly a hundred years after the fact will be such an interesting shift for future historians, assuming we find ways to keep this data around for the future.

That's a very interesting recording, not just because of the music but because of the people, and how incredibly happy they sound. On the (off key) rendering of 'In the Mood' someone comments 'The computer is obviously not in the mood', and then they try again. The sound is a bit like a cello. Would be nice to sample it so that it can be used as an instrument in a synth.

My own first computer 'music' (big word for what it sounded like) was made using a KIM-1 and an AM radio held close to it. Pretty limited environment but lots of fun.

Mentioned in passing: the Programmer's Handbook (for the Manchester Electronic Computer) by Alan Turing

http://www.alanturing.net/programmers_handbook/

Submitted separately fwiw: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23784547

I appreciate why they did a noise reduction pass, but it does have the unfortunate side-effect of making the voices in the background unintelligible. I would like to have known what they were saying.

Related: the first known music played by a computer was earlier that year in Australia.[0] Article includes modern recreations of the music.

[0]: https://theconversation.com/how-australia-played-the-worlds-...

Can't help but think of this.

https://youtu.be/41U78QP8nBk