AY-3-8910 is an intermedia performance developed from my ongoing research into the sound chip of the same name, produced by General Instrument in 1978. The work explores the sonic and visual possibilities of obsolete digital technologies, bringing historical hardware into dialogue with contemporary tools for real-time interaction and audiovisual processing.
The performance is built around four Toshiba HX-22 MSX home computers from 1984 and a Philips NMS 8245 MSX2 computer from 1987. The AY-3-8910 Programmable Sound Generator (PSG), an essential component of the original MSX standard, becomes the sonic core of the work.
The four Toshiba HX-22 computers generate sound and ASCII-based visual material, while the Philips NMS 8245 produces additional ASCII visuals that are projected through a video upscaler. All five computers are controlled from Max/MSP via Arduino interfaces, creating a network between original 1980s hardware and a contemporary computer-based environment.
The individual audio outputs of the four Toshiba machines are processed and modulated in real time within Max/MSP. At the same time, the visuals generated by the Philips NMS 8245 respond dynamically to the audio and data produced by the four MSX computers, establishing a continuous interaction between sound, image, code, and machine.
Rather than treating these computers simply as obsolete technology, AY-3-8910 approaches them as audiovisual instruments with their own distinctive sonic and visual identities. The limitations of the original hardware become part of the aesthetic language of the performance, connecting the technological constraints of early home computing with contemporary practices of live electronics and intermedia performance.
This video was recorded during the SpazioMusica Festival at the Conservatory of Music in Cagliari, Sardinia, on September 6, 2026.
Video editing by Federica Deiana.