My compositional research focusses on the relationship between live performance and advanced technology, specifically AI, Video Game, and VR Technologies. I am currently a Career Development Fellow in Composition at Jesus College, Oxford University, and an Associate at PRiSM (the Centre for Practice & Research in Science & Music) based at the Royal Northern College of Music.
My PhD at PRiSM (2018-2022) was in association with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council through the North-West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership. You can read it here.
Articles & interviews
Laidlow, R. (2023). Silicon for Orchestra and Artificial Intelligence. AIMC 2023. Retrieved from https://aimc2023.pubpub.org/pub/wbt654g2
BBC Radio 3 Music Matters (2023) interview on Silicon and AI
New Scientist video interview on Silicon
PRiSM's Emily Howard and Robert Laidlow: Mathematics, AI and the orchestra PRS Article
Alter, Artificial Intelligence and the Modern Polymath
Royal Philharmonic Society article
Inventing the Lovelace Engine
PRiSM Article
Alter - An Ensemble Work Composed with and about AI
Digital Music Research Network Proceedings 2019
BBC Radio 3 Music Matters (2019) - AI and the future of music
University of Salford Research Festival/BBC Philharmonic Performance
Pre-performance interview ahead of performance of Alter
Calculus of the Nervous System interview
Generating the Future interview and event
RNCM Radio Interview and broadcast
Recent & upcoming talks
Three Strategies for Incorporating Artificial Intelligence into the Compositional Process of Orchestral Music at AIMC Conference 2023, Brighton. 30/08/2023.
Music that contains itself: proportionality as musical material at the Society for Music Analysis annual conference, Oxford University. 07/07/2023.
Silicon Soul; Neural Synthesis as Archive-Specific Compositional Tool at the Cyborg Soloists Symposium, Royal Holloway University. 16/06/23
Presenting on my current and ongoing research at the Digital Hub in Jesus College, Oxford. 17/05/23
New Horizons panel member at the ISM Empowered Musician Day 2023. 23/04/23
Music and Artificial Intelligence: mimic or muse? at Wolfson College, Oxford University. 09/02/23
Artificial Intelligence as Creative Agent in the Compositional Process at the 57th Royal Musical Association Annual Conference, Newcastle University. 14-16/09/21
Presenting on my work at New Music Gathering, Augsburg University, Minneaopolis, Minnesota. 12-18/08/21.
Presenting on my work at the Alan Turing Institute, AI&ARTS Webinar Series. 25/06/21
Artificial Intelligence and the Orchestra at 'Towards 2040: Creating Classical Music Futures', Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music. 22/04/21
Alter (2019) presented as part of the Machine Creativity Showcase, NeurIPS Conference, Vancouver. December 2020.
Alter (2019) presented as part of the 2020 Conference on AI Music Creativity, KTH, Stockholm. 18-23/10/20
Three Entistatios (2019) presented as part of BBC Blue Room Sounds Amazing Conference 2020.