Approximate Rhythms
program notes [from the Centaur CD "Inner Voices"]

Brad Garton's Approximate Rhythms grew from his fascination with
drum machines, those amazing little boxes that have managed to collapse
a drum set into a small collection of silicon chips.  He used the sound
sampling/playback capabilities of a "general purpose" computer to create
his own version of a drum machine.  The computer generated all of the
rhythms using probabilities for drum hits to appear on different beats
and he then mixed together patches of computer-generated rhythms to
create the final piece.  He writes, "Ever since the birth of my daughter,
I have become increasingly concerned with the effects of our technological
'progress' on our world and on ourselves.  I think that subtext can be
heard pretty easily in the piece."