Computers, Composition and the Challenge of “New Music” in Modern India

The use of sophisticated computer systems in the design and performance of music has taken place in the context of a society that demands novelty and expects technology to play a leading role in extending the boundaries of what is musically possible. This article describes a different approach to the use of technology in composition and an alternative technology that grew out of research into the complex rhythmic intricacies of Indian drum music. The authors present the new version of their Bol Processor and explain its time accuracy, flexibility and capacity to manipulate highly complex polymetric symbols. The authors’ work has inspired further developments by Indian researchers who are rising to the challenge of developing a technology built around concepts familiar to the Indian musical mind as an alternative to models dependent upon Western concepts.