Event overview
From Bytebeats to Eurorack: AI, Genetic Algorithms, and Hardware for New Electronic Sound
Abstract
Bytebeats, first popularised in 2011 by Finnish programmer Ville-Matias Heikkilä (“viznut”), are short mathematical expressions that generate surprisingly rich sound when evaluated over time and output as 8-bit audio. Even simple formulas such as t*(42&t>>10) can create rhythmic melodies, drones, and unusual textures, inspiring a dedicated retro-music community.
This talk presents a project to explore bytebeat composition more systematically using genetic algorithms and automated audio-quality oracles, combining classical audio-classification methods with custom neural networks to discover novel and musically interesting expressions. The project also extends into hardware: a Eurorack bytebeat synthesiser designed to bring these generated sounds into a modular synthesis environment. I discuss the path from early Daisy-based prototypes on an ARM Cortex-M7 audio platform to a final custom circuit and PCB, and reflect on how AI tools such as Claude Code and Google Gemini accelerated both the software and hardware development process.
Bio
Steve is an angel investor, technology advisor, and venture partner at Frontline Ventures in London, investing in European pre-seed and seed-stage B2B software companies. Most recently he was CTO at Unity 3D, leading technology strategy and the Unity Engine and platforms team, and previously CTO of King Games, where he led technology strategy behind Candy Crush and other major mobile titles.
He has more than 30 years of experience in technology strategy and product development, including as founder or CTO of three software companies: Havok, a leading physics and animation middleware company; Kore, developer of the Kore Virtual Machine; and Swrve, a mobile marketing automation platform used by major global brands. Earlier in his career he founded Trinity College Dublin’s computer graphics research group in 1994, led funded research in graphics and real-time physics simulation, and later established TCD’s MSc in computer game technology. He also worked on 3D scientific visualisation at Hitachi Research Labs in Tokyo and began his career developing Commodore 64 games. He holds a PhD in computer graphics and global illumination, and enjoys making strange noises with modular synthesisers.
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Mar 2026 | 4:00pm - 5:30pm |
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