This article hosts an interdisciplinary exploration of cyclic rhythmic structures, bringing together historical references to ground understanding of algorithmic electronic dance music, and in particular the algorave movement. The role of pattern in uniting dance, music and language is investigated in the ancient practice of weaving, in ancient Greek choral lyric, and contemporary live coding. In this context the TidalCycles environment is introduced, with some visual and audio examples. Cyclic metrical patterns in ancient Greek are then explored in detail, particularly the metrical transformations of Epiplokē. Finally, this jump between contemporary and ancient practice leads us to consider algorave itself as a Luddite movement, its proponents engaged in an unravelling of technology.
εἰ γὰρ ἠδύνατο ἕκαστον τῶν ὀργάνων κελευσθὲν ἢ προαισθανόμενον ἀποτελεῖν τὸ αὑτοῦ ἔργον, ὥσπερ τὰ Δαιδάλου φασὶν ἢ τοὺς τοῦ Ἡφαίστου τρίποδας, οὕς φησιν ὁ ποιητής αὐτομάτους θεῖον δύεσθαι ἀγῶνα, οὕτως αἱ κερκίδες ἐκέρκιζον αὐταὶ καὶ τὰ πλῆκτρα ἐκιθάριζεν, οὐδὲν ἂν ἔδει οὔτε τοῖς ἀρχιτέκτοσιν ὑπηρετῶν οὔτε τοῖς δεσπόταις δούλων. Arist. Pol. 1253b34-1254a1 For if each tool could perform its own task either at our bidding, or anticipating it, and ifas they say of the artefacts made by Daedalus or the tripods of Hephaestus, of which the poet says, "self-moved they enter the assembly of the gods"-weft-beaters should beat the weft of their own accord, and plectra should pluck the kithara of themselves, then master-craftsmen would have no need of assistants and masters no need of slaves. 2
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