Bjarni Gunnarsson

Netherlands (residence), Iceland (citizenship) °1980
research interests: Algorithmic Composition, computer music, electroacoustic music, programming language
affiliation: Royal Conservatoire
en

Bjarni Gunnarsson is an Icelandic Composer and Computer Scientist from Reykjavík, Iceland. Bjarni has over 20 years of experience working with computer music and creative systems. He’s interested in process-based sound and algorithmic composition. How sound and software interact and the relationship between algorithms and musical behaviour. He creates compositions that put into foreground behaviours, actions, fluid sound structures, fuzzy materials, or forms. His recent research focus includes the construction of persistent synthetic environments, creative uses of digital interrupts, and machine-listening observers that react to computer-generated sound.


Bjarni has presented his research at conferences such as ICMC (International Computer Music Conference), ICLC (International Conference on Live Coding), SMC (Sound and Music Computing) and xCoAx (Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics & X). He has performed in festivals such as Tectonics, Rewire, Today's Art, Sonar and Presences Electroniques and released music on labels such as Vertical Form, Thule, Uni:form, Spezial Material, Trachanik, LMALC, Shipwrec, 3LEAVES, Granny, Tartaruga, SUPERPANG and SØVN. Collections of his solo works can be found on the releases “Safn 2006-2009” (2010), "Processes & Potentials" (2013), "Paths" (2016), "Lueur" (2018), "Volume & Void" (2020), "Cendres" (2020), "Anticlines" (2021) and "UPICS" (2023).


Interested in exploring the contact between composed computer sound structures and space. Has presented/worked in various spatial configurations such as at the WFS system in The Hague (192 speakers), the WFS system in Berlin (832 speakers), the BEAST system in Birmingham (up to 100 speakers), GRM Paris as well as recent 8 and 4 channel formations.


Bjarni is a faculty member at the Institute of Sonology, Royal Conservatory in The Hague and a teacher of algorithmic composition and computer music. He studied computer science at the University of Reykjavík and composition with Gerard Pape, Trevor Wishart, Agostino Di Scipio and Curtis Roads at the CCMIX music centre in Paris. He holds a master’s degree from Sonology completed with Paul Berg, Kees Tazelaar and Richard Barrett.
http://www.bjarni-gunnarsson.net

 

research

research expositions

  • Context and Scope (last edited: 2021) author(s): Bjarni Gunnarsson This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
    The context of generative processes encapsulates relevant data that influence the behavior of an algorithm including mental domains and 'internal' dimensions of a particular context such as goals and decision making. Of creative importance is how an algorithmic process reacts to the influence of its environment, the enclosing conditions from which it emerges. Given a clearly defined set of resources, a variety of processes can operate within the boundaries imposed by a certain context. Such a shared space can be seen as a composable structure, a space where both composition and generative activity take place. Contributing to the evolving properties of a certain situation, the persistence of state means that an environment behaves according to the previous activity that has occurred within it. Opposed to an amnesic situation, a persistent environment can resume previous developments, adapt to long-term interactions and evolve over time. Based on persistence and gradual change, the temporal unfolding of generative processes has an important impact on the becoming of compositional algorithms and the sound material they create.
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  • Interrupts And Intervention (last edited: 2020) author(s): Bjarni Gunnarsson connected to: KC Research Portal This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
    Interaction with generative processes often concerns manipulation of their input and output or a variation of predefined parameters that are part of a given process. One can think of algorithmic procedures as black boxes, it does not matter how they work if they serve in a useful way. Based on a black box model, generative processes can be instantiated, followed by a reflection of whether one accepts their results or not. This often involves an idea of completion. That an algorithm produces a result that has to be evaluated and treated accordingly. Creative activity, (such as musical composition) is arguably not such a clearly-defined process. Instead of progressing towards known goals, a compositional process might constantly develop and change shape. In such situations, generative algorithms are needed that interact with the ongoing creative activity. Algorithms that match (and take place within) the context of evolving and dynamic compositional processes. This paper presents a software framework that addresses the relationship between interaction and generative algorithms based on scheduling and computer process management. Algorithms that are partial and scheduled based on adaptive heuristics. Interrupt-based process management and context switching as a creative force.
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  • Project 2 (last edited: 2020) author(s): Bjarni Gunnarsson connected to: KC Research Portal This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
    This exposition forms part of the research project 'Project 2 - Implementation' that concerns a modern implementation of a historically important computer-assisted composition program, Project 2 made at The Royal Conservatoire and Institute of Sonology in The Hague in 2020. The computer program Project 2 (PR2) extended some of the ideas introduced with Project 1. The aim was to give the composer greater control over the composition process and implementation started in 1965. Although several attempts have been made to complete a version of the program, there is no working version that exists today. This project proposal concerns completing Project 2, based on recent specifications by Koenig and with his invaluable assistance and input.
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