First Recording of Computer Generated Music Restored

Alan Turing is best known for his pioneering work on breaking the Nazi's Enigma code in the 1940s. Considered the father of modern computing Turing's work on computer music however has been largely overlooked.

This recording unearthed by the University of Canterbury (UC) in Christchurch shows that Turing was also a musical innovator. The recording starts with the British national anthem, and continues with such classics as Baa, Baa Black Sheep and Glen Millers In The Mood.

The melodies were generated on a machine that covered most of the ground floor of the laboratory. The recordings were made onto a 12" Acetate disc. When the disc was first unearthed the professors at UC thought the recording was far to distorted and damaged to be listenable. However through some carful audio detective work the team were able to pull the recordings from the acetate.

"It was a beautiful moment when we first heard the true sound of Turing's computer,"

We would be surprised in iZotope RX didn't have some role to play in the restoration process.

More Info at TheRegister

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