I started to study computer science because I wanted to do interesting and fun projects with computers, and seeking for those projects, as a hobby musician, I got into computer music and music technololy in general.

Throughout the years I always tried to combine my interest in the latest technology and in art, specifically music. I have also a strong interest in free software and I am a Linux user and developer (you can find several of my packages that I have done for Debian in the Ubuntu distribution). Thats how, back in 1997 I ported the free computer music system Pure Data (Pd) and its graphical extension GEM to the Linux platform, which in turn started the strong Pd community movement.

I am still using Pd, and I used in in several projects over the years, like the Sonosphere at the “Haus der Musik” in vienna, or, more recent, the highly successful reactable project. I implemented a fixed point arithmetic version of Pd for handheld devices, and also ported it to the iPhone. Yes, right, the power horse behind RJDJ is Pure Data. Everyone who knows how to do Pure Data patches can build RJDJ scenes.

Michael contacted me already back in 2002 because he wanted to start this project, but at that time, although we had the tools and a running prototype, we did not have the platform. iPods where there, but no one except Apple could develop for them. I had a Linux based version of Pd running on it, but who would install linux on his ipod in order to listen to music ? Besides, it was missing a crucial part, it didn’t have a microphone. PDA’s didn’t have a significant market share and have been everything else than music machines, symbian phones … well, enough of that.

Now we have the iphone and it is the perfect platform for RJDJ. The rest will once be told as the history of this project.