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Algorithm as Ritual: May 2020 (Audio)

May 12, 2020

Playlist
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge – Ritual Music
Ollie Gilbert – The Diver Boy
Gabo Brown & Orchestre Poly-Rythmo – It’s a Vanity
Orlando Pereira – Carimbó para Yemanjá
Eli Keszler – Corresponding Probably to Quanta
Gas – Tal 90
Ed Lewis – Dollar Mamie
John Fahey – Requiem for Mississippi John Hurt
United Sacred Harp Convention – Sherburne (186)
Ed Young, Lonnie Young, Sr., & G. D. Young – Church, I Know We got
Another Building
Burial – Indoors
Huerco S. – Promises of Fertility
John Coltrane – A Love Supreme, Pt. 1: Acknowledgement (Live)
Void – Who are You?
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge – Ritual Music

al·go·rithm
noun
a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.

rit·u·al
noun
a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order.

“Get yourself out of whatever cage you find yourself in.” ― John Cage

What is the relationship between algorithms and rituals? How can a creative algorithm function as a ritual or emancipatory tool to counter hegemonic media consumption? Algorithm as Ritual aims to expand the musical tastes of listeners through the use of creative coding and serendipity; deviating from known paths and venturing into uncharted musical territories. The playlists for Algorithm as Ritual are generated by a computer program written in Python that randomly selects tracks from an eclectic and continuously growing music archive maintained by artist Patrick Quinn. Quinn searches far and wide— from dusty bins in record stores to the shadiest corners of the Darknet—for music to go into the Algorithm as Ritual Archive. Unlike many of the algorithms of large corporations that attempt to rationalize and commodify cyberspace by collecting massive amounts of user data, the computer program used to generate playlists for Algorithm as Ritual embraces uncertainty and “the unknown” in hopes of expanding the hearts and minds of listeners.

Source code for Algorithm as Ritual can be found here: https://github.com/SURVANT-Cryp/Algorithm-as-Ritual/