Peak Cut by Yaxu

Yaxu presents his first EP “Peak Cut”, as the second release of the Computer Club label. Yaxu is the solo project of Alex McLean, algorave pioneer and one third of the seminal live coding band Slub, who have had people dancing to their algorithms since 2001. Peak Cut comes on a limited edition USB credit card containing the six track EP, bonus video and custom operating system, along with an exclusive library of over 100 algorithmic Tidal patterns to explore, adapt and remix.

Peak Cut is abstract and challenging, with beats and melodies spliced into chaotic reworkings of techno. However, detail and precision rewards closer listening, following the South Yorkshire tradition of pushing electronic music into alien territory, which somehow makes sense on (open-minded) dancefloors. All the music is created with code, using a pattern-based approach to generative music, developed by Alex over 15 years and now turned over to you, in the form of the Tidal software.

The USB card works as a memory stick, for accessing the audio and bonus material. The USB card is also bootable, into a Computer Club themed Linux operating system with Tidal ready installed. Tidal is a text-based mini-language accessible to non-programmers; documentation for how to get started is included, along with an exclusive library of algorithmic Tidal patterns to explore, including all the code for the EP tracks.

The operating system is Linux Mint, using the Computer Club theme. Tidal can be started from a shortcut on the desktop, with links to code examples and tutorials from Alex and the rest of the Tidal community.