Issues of ubimus archaeology: Beyond pure computing and precision during the analogue-digital transition

Résumé En

The transition between the analogue-based practices of the 1950s and the digitally based techniques employed during the 1960s provides an interesting confluence of factors that may illuminate some of the challenges faced by post-2020 music making. We apply a ubimus archaeological perspective to address two aspects of creative practice: precision and simulation. Our discussion is based on first-hand sources extracted from the repository Fonds Risset and on a selection of writings by key early practitioners.We provide a working definition of ubimus archaeology and furnish documental evidence to challenge the assumption of precise methods and pure computing in the early days of digital music making. We question the current strategies of repurposing, highlighting the emergence of conflicts between sustainability and innovation. "[We should not] presume to tell a composer what should or should not be done but rather what the results might be if a given thing is done".