‘Neon Cyborg Cat Club’ generates unique soundtracks for the apocalypse

Created with the support of the City of Melbourne’s COVID-19 Arts Grants, ‘Neon Cyborg Cat Club’ is not a game so much as it is an algorithmic music performance.

For some time now, the city has been deserted. Looking out at empty streets from your highrise window, it looks like no-one has set foot here in months. The only discernible movement in the dim room you find yourself in is a cat, walking in random patterns, and you’re grateful for the company. 

Shockingly, I’m not talking life under stage four restrictions; I’m talking about Neon Cyborg Cat Club, an algorithmic performance piece that draws on developer Edwin Montgomery’s skills as a composer, performer, and sound designer. Released today, the feline musical experience is free to download for the next two weeks. It was developed with the support of a COVID-19 Arts Grant through the City of Melbourne, as an experimental reflection on digital performance, and life in lockdown.

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Jini Maxwell is a curator at ACMI, and an award-winning videogame journalist. They curated ‘Honk: Untitled Goose Exhibition,’ co-curate Gay24, a monthly film night showcasing rare, radical and archival queer films. Jini is currently co-curating a major videogame exhibition at ACMI.