EVAL

This article introduces EVAL, a musical work that explores two contemporary possibilities within a vintage environment — namely the Commodore 64 and its MOS 6581/8580 SID sound chip. One of these possibilities is AI in retrocomputing: a simplified decoder, adapted to the Commodore 64 BASIC environment, generates short melodic lines derived from a pre-trained variational autoencoder. The other involves real-time sound processing and improvisation using a SID emulator. The performance, controlled live via two Nintendo Switch JoyCons, begins as a playful interaction between human and machine and takes an unexpected turn.