All the music was created by a generative process using a simple computer program – a cellular automaton with code 357. Through simple rules, these automata simulate complex systems that resemble aspects of nature, the universe, or life if you want.

The inspiration for the album comes from reading texts by authors such as J. Bach, J. Kelemen, M. Minsky, V. Flusser, S. Wolfram, K. Zuse, T. Morton, B. Latour, L. Kováč, and many others

Supported using public funds by Slovak Arts Council

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Fero Király’s How Much Can We Understand maps out some of the foggy territory where technological systems intersect with organic complexity. The album’s two sidelong tracks were generated using “a cellular automaton with code 357”, a computational model where simple rules applied to a grid of cells produce intricate evolving patterns that echo the inexplicability of natural phenomena. The result is as much a feat of cold engineering as a tender ode to musical minimalism.

On side one, ‘357a’ is a robot’s lullaby, with interlocking Gamelan-esque chimes, creating a syncopated meditative atmosphere. Delicate melodies phase in and out like malfunctioning music boxes, resulting in a consistently enigmatic experience picking up where previous works from Király such as the autonomous musical environment of Chronika (2019) left off in exploring repetition, chance, and systemics in musical language. The flipside’s ‘357b’ shifts focus and enlists a choir of humming synth tones that slowly plot similar interlocking paths. They emerge and fade in a myriad of untraceable patterns, drifting in and out of earshot.

Király’s commitment to free, open-source software like JACK and SuperCollider on Linux is integral to his artistic and ethical approach, reflecting a dedication to both innovation and accessibility. Previous works in microtonality and generative processes have pushed boundaries and bridged the gap between the digital and the organic. How Much Can We Understand sees the artist at a zenith, where the composed and the emergent, the organic and systemic, coexist as music.
Tristan Bath