What Is Algorave
A portmanteau of "algorithm" and "rave." A form of live performance where artists write code on stage — and the audience watches every keystroke projected on screen. The music and visuals emerge from the algorithm in real time.
The Code Is The Score
In a traditional concert, the audience hears the result of months of composition and rehearsal. In a live coding performance, the composition happens in front of you. The performer opens a text editor, starts typing, and sound begins to emerge.
There is no safety net. The code runs live. A wrong character can silence the music. A new pattern can transform the entire texture of the sound in a single keystroke. The audience is watching the creative process unfold in real time.
Visual live coders do the same with graphics — writing shaders, generative patterns, and feedback loops that respond to the music. The screen becomes a canvas that is painted and repainted with code.
d1 $ sound "bd sd hh sd"
# gain 0.8
# room 0.4
-- evolve it live
every 4 (fast 2) $ d1
From Rave to Singapore
The term "Algorave" is coined by Nick Collins and Alex McLean. Live coding as performance art begins to emerge from academic and experimental music circles.
The Transnational Organisation for the Proliferation of Live Audio Programming is established — a global collective formalising live coding as a performance discipline.
Alex McLean releases Tidal Cycles, a pattern-based live coding language for music. It becomes the most widely used tool in the Algorave community.
Strudel.cc brings Tidal Cycles-style live coding to the browser — no installation required. The barrier to entry drops dramatically.
Algorave Singapore is established — the first dedicated live coding performance community in Southeast Asia. The first event is scheduled for July 2026.
How We Operate
Code in Public
Every keystroke is projected. The audience sees the algorithm as it is written. There is no hiding behind a laptop — the process is the performance.
No Gatekeeping
You do not need a music degree, a CS degree, or years of experience. If you are curious and willing to make mistakes in public, you belong here.
Build Together
Algorave is not a competition. We share code, share techniques, and perform alongside each other. The community is the instrument.
Embrace Failure
Errors are part of the show. A crashed process, a wrong pattern, a feedback loop — these are not mistakes, they are live decisions made in real time.
Southeast Asia's
First Chapter
Singapore sits at the intersection of technology, art, and a deeply multicultural creative scene. The city has a thriving electronic music community, a growing base of creative technologists, and a culture of experimentation that makes it the natural home for Southeast Asia's first Algorave chapter.
We want to build something that reflects Singapore's unique position — connecting the global live coding community with local artists, musicians, and coders who are ready to perform in public and push the boundaries of what a live set can be.
$ chapter: Singapore (first in SEA)
$ global_network: algorave.com, toplap.org
$ status: ACTIVE — FIRST EVENT JUL 2026
Ready to get involved?
Come to an event. Learn the tools. Get on stage.