{"guid":"79d74d4b-3b3c-5b30-86c0-729a89ce2246","title":"The Machine That Says No: 1-Bit Music on the ZX Spectrum","subtitle":null,"slug":"emf2026-157-1-the-machine-that-says-no-1-bit-music-on-the-zx-spectrum","link":"https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/157-the-machine-that-says-no-1-bit-music-on-the-zx-spectrum","description":"How do you make music with a computer that barely wants to make sound at all?\n\nThe 1982 ZX Spectrum has no sound chip, no DAC, and only a single on/off signal connected to a speaker. On paper, it is a terrible instrument.  But it can be pushed into strange, rhythmic, surprisingly rich musical territory.\n\nPart illustrated lecture, part live performance, this session will use original hardware to show how pitch, rhythm and timbre can emerge from timing alone. Expect raw clicks, tones, fake polyphony, pulse-width tricks, arpeggios, Z80 assembly, and data-as-noise, alongside examples of Andy’s work.\n\nThe ZX Spectrum becomes instrument, demonstration tool and awkward collaborator, doing its best to sabotage the performance while somehow making music.\n\nLicensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/","original_language":"eng","persons":["Andy Jenkinson"],"view_count":102,"promoted":false,"date":"2026-07-18T13:00:00.000+02:00","release_date":"2026-07-19T00:00:00.000+02:00","updated_at":"2026-07-24T16:15:05.131+02:00","tags":["15701","2026","emf2026","talk","Arcade Workshop","emf2026-eng","Day 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