Endless Moments: Generative Music in the Browser

Abstract

Endless Moments is an immersive, real-time audiovisual experience that combines algorithmically generated music and visuals to create a dynamic, evolving work of art. At its core, the piece exemplifies the artistic value of handcrafted rule-based approaches in generative art, offering a high degree of creative control and intentionality that is difficult to achieve with machine learning models. The creators craft a coherent, culturally rich experience that blends Western harmonic traditions with global rhythmic influences. The visual design, inspired by Color Field painting, enhances this harmony through subtle, algorithmically generated textures that evolve alongside the music. This paper situates Endless Moments within the broader context of generative art, emphasising the complementary roles of handcrafted algorithms and automated systems while advocating for the unique merits of rule-based creativity.

I. Concept

Endless Moments is a generative artwork that harmonises real-time visuals and polyphonic soundscapes into an immersive experience. Drawing from minimalist music, global rhythmic traditions, and Color Field painting, it blends dynamic audiovisual textures with evolving polyphonic music to create a sense of timeless flow. The synchronised interaction between its visual and auditory elements offers viewers a meditative journey, celebrating the fusion of cultural inspiration and algorithmic artistry.

As a generative digital-media work, it blends temporal audiovisual elements with subtle stochastic variations to create a work that is both ever-changing and deeply familiar. The synchronisation of audio and visual events with real-time computing processes, combined with the evocative musical and visual motifs, offers an immersive experience designed to resonate with audiences on multiple levels.

The digital generative work embodies an inherent duality, seamlessly blending the fleeting with the timeless. This fusion creates a sense of ongoing evolution that remains deeply rooted in familiarity.

Aesthetically, the algorithmically generated musical motifs in Endless Moments resonate with echoes from Western musical traditions yet are influenced by rhythmic elements from other cultures, creating a bridge between historical influences and contemporary multicultural expression. The polyphonic musical textures are accompanied by abstract, textured visual elements that evolve in tandem with the music, guiding the audience through a journey that can transcend time.

II. Musical Influences

Endless Moments draws inspiration from the evolving minimalist compositions of pioneers like Terry Riley and Steve Reich. These composers are renowned for their innovative use of repeating phrases that overlap, shift phases, and evolve, creating dynamic and emergent textures.

At the core of Endless Moments are algorithmic processes designed to generate musical phrases and their transformation and arrangement. This approach results in a continually evolving musical landscape that balances on the edge of chaos and coherence. The generative processes influence a multitude of musical attributes, including harmonic structure, phrase lengths, part balance, and medium-term structure. An intricate balance between these elements is designed so that the music is foregrounded and the work remains engaging and coherent.

The algorithmic nature of Endless Moments is largely deterministic, thanks to the use of a seeded pseudo-random number generator, ensuring that each performance is similar. However, its constant evolution means that in an exhibition space where the work is continually running, an individual viewer’s experience at a particular moment in time is unique. Variability is guided by the underlying generative processes designed to maintain a coherent musical structure. The result is a piece that is both familiar and ever-changing.

Many musical cultures incorporate repeating elements that contribute to their unique soundscapes. For instance, African music is renowned for its intricate polyrhythmic patterns, where multiple rhythms are played simultaneously. Similarly, Middle Eastern music often features heterophony, a texture where multiple performers play simultaneous variations of a single melodic line. The Gamelan music of Indonesia also exemplifies this with its layered, interlocking patterns. The rhythmic embellishments in Endless Moments also draw inspiration from the pitched percussive patterns found in traditional Indian drum performances. These embellishments add a layer of rhythmic sophistication and cultural richness to the composition.

By integrating these varied rhythmic influences, Endless Moments creates a tapestry of sound that is both globally inspired and uniquely its own. This fusion enhances the complexity of the piece and pays homage to many rich musical heritages.

III. Visual Influences

The visual inspiration for Endless Moments is rooted in Colour Field painting techniques that emerged in the 1940s, pioneered by artists such as Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, and Clyfford Still. These artists embraced a form of visual abstraction that deliberately eschewed any suggestion of figuration, focusing instead on the emotional resonance of colour and form. Their work is characterised by large expanses of textured colour that create a sense of depth and intensity.

This immersive quality is a key element in the visual design of Endless Moments. The piece employs a digital colour field technique that is subtly animated, with semi-transparent layers of related colours creating depth and richness. This dynamic visual experience evolves over time, much like the music. Achieving this through layers of SVG shapes is computationally efficient and parallels the painterly approach used in traditional Colour Field works.

Adding to this visual tapestry are transient, randomised textural forms that appear and disappear in synchronisation with the music. These visual elements, combined with the evolving music, create a cohesive and immersive environment. This human-centered approach aligns Endless Moments with traditions of rule-based generative art (e.g., Casey Reas), where algorithms serve as a medium for personal expression—contrasting with data-driven, machine learning works like those of Refik Anadol.

IV. Approaches to Generative Design

Endless Moments continues the authors’ long-term exploration of algorithmic music and art. In an era dominated by machine learning, some may question the relevance of rule-based approaches. However, handcrafted algorithms offer a degree of intentionality, cultural awareness, and creative authorship that remains vital.

The rule-based algorithms in Endless Moments are crafted with a deep understanding of musical and visual structure. They use random walks through tonal and colour spaces, and probabilistic rules to shape phrasing, screen balance, and textural development. Each rule expresses a creative decision by the artist. This approach enables variability and uniqueness while preserving coherent aesthetic structure.

Unlike machine learning models, which rely on large datasets and statistical training, handcrafted systems retain a direct connection to the artist’s voice. This proximity enables personal and intentional creative expression.

The authors view both handcrafted and AI-based methods as complementary—like hand-cut lithography coexisting with laser printing. Each has unique strengths, but rule-based methods allow the artist’s vision to remain close to the surface.

Understanding cultural context is essential to generative practice. Artistic expression reflects the values and knowledge of its context. Fully autonomous AI systems often lack the cultural understanding needed for meaningful creative output. Hand-coded and co-creative systems (where humans and machines collaborate) will remain central to generative art.

Endless Moments demonstrates the enduring value of handcrafted systems, offering a powerful experience through intentional, algorithmically guided design.

V. Technical Considerations

Endless Moments is a real-time browser-based work built entirely with native web technologies: JavaScript, Web Audio API, and SVG. No third-party libraries are used, underscoring the authors’ commitment to efficiency and creative control. The entire project is just 56 KB in size, balancing expressiveness with technical minimalism.

The web platform brings advantages—cross-platform access and built-in media APIs—but also requires careful attention to browser variability, screen scaling, and audio quality across devices. The work is designed to perform reliably across modern systems.

To fully appreciate Endless Moments, the authors recommend large-scale presentation: a projector or large display with a full-range stereo audio setup. This allows the piece’s subtle visual and musical nuances to resonate fully with audiences.

VI. Conclusion

Endless Moments explores the possibilities of browser-based generative art, combining handcrafted algorithms with cultural insight and minimalistic aesthetics. The result is an evolving, immersive experience that highlights the expressive potential of real-time systems.

Through its global rhythmic influences, minimalist musical structure, and Colour Field-inspired visuals, Endless Moments creates a harmonious and meditative audiovisual journey. Each iteration is unique, yet grounded in an intentional design that reflects the creators’ vision. In an age of automated generation, the work affirms the value of personal authorship and rule-based generative processes.

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