Abstract:

Big data presents massive challenges—but music, that great human universal, provides encouragement and inspiration amidst uncertainty. Rock musician Olly Nelken and researcher Will Goodhand will explore (and demonstrate musically) just how massive, messy and overwhelming the change has been throughout music's history. Examples such as the journey to the analogue synthesiser, and then to the advent of digital synthesisers show one vital element: the human one. 'First movers' steeped in music composition, like Jean Michel-Jarre, were able to seize moments such as the digital revolution. Was this a position much like market researchers are experiencing now? If we embrace a little mess and experiment a lot aren’t we the ones uniquely placed to seize the world of opportunities? If not,why not? And if so—let's go do it.