We are a collective of artists , technologists and designers from Bangalore city focused on livecoding, computer music, hardware, audiovisual performance and all things generative. This website is an attempt to consolidate our Meetups/ Jams and to create a Directory of Creative coders & Livecoders from India to help anyone looking for like-minded people to collaborate, build, host events, algoraves (opens new window) and more ❤️.
Livecode.blr is a local node of Algorave India (opens new window) and part of the global TOPLAP (opens new window) network.
“Livecoders are basically performing by writing computer programs live on stage, while the programs are generating their art – whether that’s visuals or music. Their computer screens are projected, so that the audience can see the code being manipulated. But the focus is on the music, on people dancing and seriously enjoying themselves”- Alex Mclean, founder of Algorave and developer of TidalCycles.
Livecoding is a form of performance art in which computer programs are written, modified, and executed in real time to produce music, visuals, or other forms of computational media. The code itself becomes part of the performance: audiences can often see the programmer's screen as the work is being created and transformed live. Livecoding sits at the intersection of computer programming, art, music, free and open-source software (FOSS), hacker culture, and new media. It treats code not simply as a tool for producing a finished work, but as a medium for improvisation, experimentation, and performance. It is also part of the broader fields of Computer Art and Computer Music.
The distinction is subtle but important. Art and music made with computers can use a computer simply as a production or recording tool. Computer Art and Computer Music, by contrast, explore computation itself as an artistic and musical medium—using algorithms, procedural systems, generative processes, interaction, data, and the particular properties of computational systems to create works that would not exist in quite the same way without them.
If you find it difficult to visualize computer music/livecoding, we have a playlist of tracks (opens new window) with track ID's (opens new window) from one of our recent listening sessions to get you up to speed.You can also check out Algorave India compilation 1 (opens new window), which has contributions from some of our members. We also have a reading list (opens new window) to help you with sourcing in-depth references.
Although we are a livecoding group, we are open to anybody with an interest in computer music, creative tech, the new media arts and generative design, whether they are curious beginners or hardened veterans. We aim to create a welcoming space for people from all backgrounds and walks of life regardless of origin, and are always looking to platform people from underrepresented backgrounds in the computational arts. Feel free to attend a meeting and find out if it's for you!
If you want to attend one of our events for strictly educational purposes and you belong to a marginalised/severely repressed caste/scheduled tribe or similarly financially backward community in India, please message us and we will be happy to work out any form of financial assistance deemed necessary.
Our logo is directly inspired by "Kasuti" (opens new window), a centuries old hand-stitching and embroidery tradition from the Dharwad region of Karnataka. We chose this logo to not only be true to where we come from, but to also give visibility to the scores of computational artists from India whose practices precede our own yet do not get the recognition they deserve as a consequence of lacking the economic support necessary.
Please support the rural working women of Karnataka who keep this and other incredible computational crafts alive by purchasing Kasuti from artisanal retailers such as Artikrafts (opens new window) , Kasuti Kavana (opens new window), Banjara Kasuti (opens new window) or directly at the Cauvery Handicrafts Emporium on MG road.