home [biog] research [music] group [teaching] {code} [links]

I include links to the papers/music/code where they are available on this site, and to the conferences or publishers where links are extant. The papers are in PDF format. The journal articles will only be made available where the publisher isn't retaining copyright. Under review items will only be referenced once they have a proper home. E-mail me if you're interested in anything you suspect is behind the scenes. There are implementations and artworks related to much of this work, check the code and music pages for downloads.

Books

PhD

Book Chapters

Journal Articles

(2009) [FORTHCOMING] "Form and Algorithmic Composition", Contemporary Music Review

(2008) "The Analysis of Generative Music Programs", Organised Sound 13(3): 237-248

(2006) [PDF] "Composing to Subvert Content Retrieval Engines" ARRAY, ICMA online journal (my contribution was actually written May 2005)

(2006) [HMTL] Nick Collins and Fredrik Olofsson. "klipp av: Live Algorithmic Splicing and Audiovisual Event Capture", Computer Music Journal 30(2): pp 8-18

(2006) "BBCut2: Incorporating Beat Tracking and On-the-fly Event Analysis", Journal of New Music Research 35(1); pp 63-70

(2004) [HMTL] "An Algorithm for the Direct Generation of Set Class Representatives in Any Pitch Class Space", Music Theory Online 10(3)

(2003) "Generative Music and Laptop Performance", Contemporary Music Review 22(4): pp 67-79

(2003) Collins, N., McLean, A., Rohrhuber, J. & Ward, A. "Live Coding Techniques for Laptop Performance", Organised Sound 8(3): pp 321-30

(2003) "Recursive Audio Cutting", Leonardo Music Journal 13: pp23-9

(2003) [HMTL] "Algorithmic Composition Methods for Breakbeat Science" (Revised with a new foreword and mp3 examples). ARiADA 3.

(2002) [PDF] "Impossible Music", NoiseGate 10. ISSN1367613X.

(2002) "Experiments With a New Customisable Interactive Evolution Framework", Organised Sound 7(3): pp 263-273.

Conference Papers

(2008) [PDF] "The Potential of Reinforcement Learning for Live Musical Agents". Proceedings of MML2008, ICML, Helsinki.

(2008) [PDF] "Reinforcement Learning for Live Musical Agents". Proceedings of ICMC2008, International Computer Music Conference, Belfast.

(2008) [PDF] "Errant Sound Synthesis". Proceedings of ICMC2008, International Computer Music Conference, Belfast.

(2008) [PDF] "Infno: Generating Synth Pop and Electronic Dance Music On Demand". Proceedings of ICMC2008, International Computer Music Conference, Belfast.

(2007) [PDF] "Audiovisual Concatenative Synthesis". Proceedings of ICMC2007, International Computer Music Conference, Copenhagen.

(2007) [HTML] "The Analysis of Generative Music" Presentation at EMS07- Electroacoustic Studies Network

(2007) [PDF] "Matching Parts: Inner Voice Led Control for Symbolic and Audio Accompaniment". Proceedings of NIME

(2007) [PDF] "Live Coding Practice". Proceedings of NIME

(2006) [PDF] "Towards a Style-Specific Basis for Computational Beat Tracking". Proceedings of ICMPC2006. International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, Bologna

(2006) [PDF] "Investigating Computational Models of Perceptual Attack Time". Proceedings of ICMPC2006. International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, Bologna

(2005) [PDF] "A Change Discrimination Onset Detector with Peak Scoring Peak Picker and Time Domain Correction". Music Information Retrieval Exchange MIREX2005

(2005) [PDF] "Using a Pitch Detector for Onset Detection". International Conference on Music Information Retrieval ISMIR2005

(2005) [HMTL] Nick Collins and Ian Cross. "Beat Tracking and Reaction Time". Rhythm Perception and Performance Workshop RPPW10

(2005) [PDF] "An Automated Event Analysis System with Compositional Applications". Proceedings of ICMC2005, International Computer Music Conference, Barcelona.

(2005) [PDF] "DrumTrack: Beat Induction from an Acoustic Drum Kit with Synchronised Scheduling". Proceedings of ICMC2005, International Computer Music Conference, Barcelona.

(2005) [PDF] Alan Blackwell and Nick Collins. "The Programming Language as a Musical Instrument". Proceedings of PPIG05 (Psychology of Programming Interest Group).

(2005) [PDF] "A Comparison of Sound Onset Detection Algorithms with Emphasis on Psychoacoustically Motivated Detection Functions". Proceedings of AES118 Convention

(2004) [PDF] "On Onsets On-the-fly: Real-time Event Segmentation and Categorisation as a Compositional Effect". Proceedings of SMC04 ,Sound and Music Computing, IRCAM, Paris, Oct 20-22.

(2004) [HMTL] Ward et al. "Live Algorithm Programming and a Temporary Organisation for its Promotion". Proceedings of the README software art conference, Aarhus, Denmark.

(2003) [PDF] "Microtonal Tempo Canons After Nancarrow/Jaffe". Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference, Singapore.

(2003) [PDF] Nick Collins and Fredrik Olofsson. "A Protocol for Audiovisual Cutting". Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference, Singapore.

(2002) [PDF] "The BBCut Library". Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, September 16-21, 2002.

(2002) [PDF] "Interactive Evolution of Breakbeat Cut Sequences". Proceedings of Cybersonica, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, June 5-7, 2002.

(2002) [PDF] "Infinite Length Pieces: A User's Guide". Proceedings of MAXIS, Sheffield Hallam University, April 12-14, 2002.

(2002) [PDF] "Relating Superhuman Virtuosity to Human Performance". Proceedings of MAXIS, Sheffield Hallam University, April 12-14, 2002.

(2001) [PDF] "Further Automatic Breakbeat Cutting Methods". Proceedings of Generative Art 2001. Milan.

(2001) [PDF] "Algorithmic Composition Methods for Breakbeat Science". Proceedings of Music Without Walls, De Montfort University, June 21-23, 2001, ISBN 1857213319, CD-ROM.

(2000) [PDF] "Caring for the Instrumentalist in Automatic Orchestration". Proceedings for Acoustics and Music: Theory and Applications (AMTA 2000), Montego Bay, Jamaica, December 20-22, 2000, ISBN 960-8052-23-8, pp 32-38.

(2000) [PDF] "An Investigation into the Existence of Z Chords". Proceedings for Acoustics and Music: Theory and Applications (AMTA 2000), Montego Bay, Jamaica, December 20-22, 2000, ISBN 960-8052-23-8, pp 26-31.

(1999) [PDF] "Uniqueness of Pitch Class Spaces, Minimal Bases and Z Partners". Proceedings of the Diderot Forum on Mathematics and Music, Vienna, ISBN 3-85403-133-5, pp 63-77.

(1999) [PDF] "SplineSynth: An Interface to Low-Level Digital Audio". Proceedings of the Diderot Forum on Mathematics and Music, Vienna, ISBN 3-85403-133-5, pp 49-61.

Reviews

(2008) Review of Understanding the Art of Sound Organization + La musique des sons/The Music of Sounds by Leigh Landy (MIT Press and Sorbonne). Forthcoming, Organised Sound

(2008) Review of Jamie Sexton (ed.) Music, Sound and Multimedia: From the Live to the Virtual (Edinburgh University Press). Forthcoming, Organised Sound

(2008) [HTML] Karlheinz Stockhausen: Cosmic Pulses (review). Computer Music Journal 32(1): 88-91

(2007) [HTML] Review of Radiohead's digital release "In Rainbows" DIFFUSION 25:10:07, Sonic Arts Network. The generative remix program and example outputs are also available.

(2004) Review of Radiohead Kid A/Amnesiac/Hail to the Thief. Computer Music Journal 28(1): 73-7

(2003) Review of Hyperimprovisation by Roger Dean (A-R Editions). Organised Sound 8(3): 336-7

Unpublished

(2002) [PDF] "How to be a True Recording Artist". This is an unpublished sonic art joke I wrote in 2002 that I found on my hard drive.

(2001, revised 2002) [PDF] "Transposition Invariance and Parsimonius Relation of Z Sets". Includes a self transposing Z sets classification theorem, and a table of the density of Z related set classes in universes Z₈ through Z₂₄. Revised after review and subsequently favorably received by music theory mathematics researchers including David Lewin.

(2000) [PDF] "SplineSynth2: Interpolating Break-Point Sets To Obtain Sound Transformations Distinct From a Cross-Fade". Research report on the SplineSynth2 software.

Journalism

(2002) Practical Laptop Use. Future Music, October 2002, FM127.

(2005) An Interview with Matt Black (Coldcut). Computer Music. November 2005.

Patent

Digital Image Processing (a technique from complex analysis applied to whether a point is inside or outside an arbitrary curve) US6519370, GB2340006, JP2000057360, 11th February 2003. Patent owned by Sony.