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Alex McLean

@yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy

208 followers 6 following 588 posts

Non-academic #UKRIFLF research fellow at non-profit org @thentrythis, working on algorithmic patterns (@alpaca). Instigator of @tidalcycles, and co-founder of @algorave […] 🌉 bridged from ⁂ post.lurk.org/@yaxu, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

Posts Replies Media

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 10h

I found a talk from 10 years ago where I travelled back in time to explain the post-AI future. Unfortunately time travel is difficult and I wasn't very coherent www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE2TfgBtHFo

A slide saying:
Live coding - a Luddite movement?
* Live coders - first against the in the coming Deep Leaning revolution?
* Or time travellers from a post-autonomous future?

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

Just sat through 3 episodes of Silo because all the reviews are so glowing. It was awful in all ways, no redeemable qualities whatsoever. The third episode has 8.3/10 on imdb and was mostly people shouting at each other while trying to fix some steam engine blades with angle grinders while […]

Original post on post.lurk.org

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 15/10/2026

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 15/10/2026

@lowtech not even psychedelic trance?

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026

A bit of from scratch livecode from last night www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwaRvIV52NY

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026

I get super excited and happy when people ask me to do things, and also super happy when things fall through and I suddenly have some time to myself

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

If LLMs make us stupid because you can just pay them to do stuff without thinking, does that mean rich people have always been stupid

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

@aredridel Unfortunately I don't think we can use them well, because the US techbros are extractive, white supremacists who are burning the world.

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

- Programming languages being really poorly designed / inhumane - Programming languages generally only being created by a certain type of person, working for the military or big corporations These are problems that deserve solving without LLMs, but right now it seems unlikely that any of them […]

Original post on post.lurk.org

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

I've been wondering, what if we think about LLMs as a solution rather than a problem? like, there are problems with LLMs, but consumers are paying for them because they genuinely solve problems. Maybe it's better to focus on the problems they're solving? The kinds of problems I'm thinking about […]

Original post on post.lurk.org

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

@danstowell This is from someone in their 50's.

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

Am I losing my mind or is the website and code for littlefed very muchi LLM-generated? The website says it's made by hand, but the copyright holder says they didn't write the code, a group of people called the 'little computer people' did, and then trasferred copyright to him. This group is […]

Original post on post.lurk.org

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

My current research project finishes in two years and a bit, and I'm starting to think about what to do next... If you have any ideas, e.g. about funding applications etc that you'd be up for collaborating on, let me know !

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

Found footage from the first @tidalcycles workshop, in Barcelona July 2013 photos.app.goo.gl/2qmstQDW1qNaQnJW8

photos.google.com

New video · Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 🎬

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 28/09/2026

@venite Mainly his alt-right Jesus aesthetic

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

@grahamdunning aha so you're in the 'everything seems to be related to my phd topic but I feel like a dick for linking to it' stage ;)

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

Ok so car windows are sometimes called "automatic windows" if they are controlled via a button, but pedantic types will say that's wrong because they don't operate automatically, you have to press a button for them to move. But then they do often have an automatic mechanism where they reverse […]

Original post on post.lurk.org

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026

What's the latest new type of music?

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2026

We are live from Algorave Decelerate London www.youtube.com/eulerroom/live

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2026

Getting quite a lot of plausible emails from LLMs, it's impossible to tell what is a real person now. Just replied to an unsolicited but apparently well-researched question with: "Due to the growth of LLMs I'm afraid I can't spend time on unsolicited comms without more info about your […]

Original post on post.lurk.org

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 14/09/2026

My general feeling at the moment is that forums / social networks / messaging systems with open signup is becoming impossible to manage post-AI, and we'll have to give up on them soon.

Reposted by Alex McLean

TOPLAP @toplap.social.toplap.org.ap.brid.gy · 14/09/2026

With the current lack of admin/moderation time, and increasing strain from LLMs etc, the following TOPLAP services will be sunset and shut down by April 2027: * social.toplap.org - this mastodon server * forum.toplap.org - TOPLAP discourse server * eulerroom.com - […]

social.toplap.org

Original post on social.toplap.org

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 13/09/2026

Academic idea of an open access conference: You have to pay £££ to attend online or in-person, even if you are one of the speakers (actually you'll often have to pay more then), and often can only talk if you travel to it in-person (even if that means a transatlantic flight, etc), and have to […]

Original post on post.lurk.org

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 10/09/2026

We (sheffield pattern club) rarely advertise event on social media, we just focus on our email newsletter. You can subscribe here: newsletter.patternclub.org/subscrip… We recently moved it from mailchimp to self-hosted listmonk - much cleaner and snappier ! We're now using […]

Original post on post.lurk.org

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 09/09/2026

@nebogeo @TodePond @adeward I guess we could check the score against the recording soundcloud.com/chordpunch/slub-live…

Slub Live in Paris

Slub live at Maison Rouge, Paris, 30th August 2011 (C) Slub 2011 (P) Chordpunch 2012

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 09/09/2026

@nebogeo @TodePond tagging @adeward

Reposted by Alex McLean

Dave Griffiths @nebogeo.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 09/09/2026

@TodePond was folded into a slub score (although I think of more recent vintage)

Scribbled notes and diagrams on crumpled plain paper

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 09/09/2026

@nebogeo @TodePond Ah lovely! I can believe that that score was performed at public life

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 08/09/2026

@chrislowis ah good catch! will go through them all

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 08/09/2026

Here's a sneak peak of the @alpaca festival (on algorithmic patterns in the creative arts) open call for performances, workshops and conference talks: alpaca.cc/call Would really love feedback on it, whether it speaks to you, and whether you have any confusions/technicalities/etc .

Open call – Alpaca Festival

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 08/09/2026

How cool would it be if glastonbury festival ended.. it would create room for SO many smaller, more interesting festivals in the UK, creating a massive wave of creativity

Reposted by Alex McLean

Then Try This @thentrythis.social.thentrythis.org.ap.brid.gy · 07/09/2026

Meet the newest member of our studio! Lucy is joining the @alpaca project for a couple of years, helping to figure out the best ways to share the research online, with a focus on community building and marginalised groups. This is part of @yaxu's […] [Original post on social.thentrythis.org]

Text says Welcome to the Then Try This gang: Lucy Cheesman, alongside a photo of a person smilling

Text reads: Lucy Cheesman has joined us to work part-time on the UKRI funded Alpaca project. She'll be looking at better ways to share research online, informed by permacomputing principles.

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 06/09/2026

"It’s up to you… If you see yourself as white there’s no hope for you. If you see yourself as white, I’m forced to see myself as Black” - James Baldwin

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 03/09/2026

Streaming live from Sheffield Pattern Club livecode showcase, first performance in ~ 18 mins! youtube.com/eulerroom/live

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 31/08/2026

If you see any live coders arguing online, please tell them to stop procrastinating and finish their @incolico submissions

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 31/08/2026

@kat bah, it really is awful :/

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 31/08/2026

@kat Yes but not a particularly useful one - they're looking into a voluntary code of conduct or something. Have they been bothering you too?

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 26/08/2026

Disappointing to see so many high ranking UK academics sign this petition in support of white supremacist academic Nathan Cofnas johnarmstrongmaths.com/openletters/… I've written to the two Sheffield-based signatories, sharing this counter letter which is […]

Original post on post.lurk.org

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 25/08/2026

I've been working on an auto-scheduler for an upcoming, wildly overbooked algorave.. It tells people where to set up, which inputs to plug in, and shows a db meter for them to line check (thanks to xair mixers having an OSC api). It will also automatically […] [Original post on post.lurk.org]

Textmode display showing an algorave line-up with indication of who is playing and setting up, and db meters useful for line checking

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 24/08/2026

I have a nice second hand HDMI matrix (can switch 4 inputs around 8 outputs..) and am OVERJOYED to discover it has an old school protocol. Like you can plug in an ethernet cable and then telnet to it to control it remotely. I'm not really sure why it makes me so happy […]

Original post on post.lurk.org

Reposted by Alex McLean

Ambivalent Dictator For Life @pikesley.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 23/08/2026

OK stopping fiddling with Little Fluffy Clouds on #Strudel now, @gilesdring […]

Original post on mastodon.me.uk

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 19/08/2026

@drmikepj Good stuff, it just makes sense I think. I guess people pick a model for a new conference and then it 'sticks' for a field.. All the computer music conferences seem to require full papers, despite high rejection rates.

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 19/08/2026

Organising conferences I've tended to do a call for full papers but it's always felt awkward. Like why require people to write 4+ pages to apply to do a talk? Especially when it's unpaid work (sometimes even pay-to-speak), and when people generally don't just read out their paper anyway so the […]

Original post on post.lurk.org

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 19/08/2026

Do any AYAB-hacked knitting machine people fancy trying out a collaborative live coding interface for knitting, e.g. today or tomorrow? #knittingmachine #ayab

Reposted by Alex McLean

James Smith 💾 @floppy.org.uk · 15/08/2026

“Black academic hounded to death by the press for plagiarism allegations started by a known racist” versus “AI companies owned by white billionaires pushing industrial plagiarism machines down everyone’s throats whether they want them or not” I don’t see the lawyers or academics who let and LLM […]

Original post on mastodon.me.uk

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026

Epiploke (lucy cheesman + me making shifty algorithmic dance music) have a gig in Birmingham UK on 15th Oct and Bath UK on 17th Oct. Basically we're looking for a gig somewhere in between/around Bristol and Birmingham on the 16th Oct.. Maybe Cardiff or Newport? Also potentially looking for […]

Original post on post.lurk.org

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026

@liaizon Yes we (sheffield pattern club) have been talking with them about being an early adopter, we hope to have our clone up for Sheffield before the year is out!

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026

I'm going back to that London for a party 16th Sept 2026, it's going to be really good gel.now/events/849 Top lineup of live coders! Too many in fact so we decided to make some software to switch between them automatically so we stay EXACTLY on time, 20 minute sets each. Then this […]

Original post on post.lurk.org

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 14/08/2026

@rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social I haven't done one in ages for some reason, but can feel super sad and drained after, because there's no feedback. It's much much better when I am speaking to groups of people, can see them, and can hear some applause at the end. I generally really avoid using zoom […]

Original post on post.lurk.org

Alex McLean @yaxu.post.lurk.org.ap.brid.gy · 12/08/2026

@drmikepj I see so many photos of Sheffield city centre from the 70s with a few cars parked on the outside department stores on the now pedestrianised high street. They want to return to those days without recognising that there were under half the cars on the road on those days, and everyone […]

Original post on post.lurk.org