John Harding

Overview

John Harding is a Creative Technologist and Lecturer in Creative Audio and Music within the School of Arts & Humanities at Ulster University, DLD, where he has served as a core educator and researcher in Creative Technologies since 2008, spanning almost two decades.

His interdisciplinary work explores the intersections of music technology, new interfaces for musical expression (NIME), audio electronics, mechanical engineering, interactive installations, physical computing, and rapid prototyping.

John has worked in various related industry roles as a technology consultant, specialising in mechanical design and engineering for emergent energy technologies, leveraging modern 3D design and rapid prototyping technologies to develop micro energy generation devices. As founding member and previous co-Chief Technology Officer at Delta Sound Labs, an international music technology company, he has designed and developed an array of innovative hardware and software instruments, including precision interfaces for analog synthesis and VR tethered multichannel audio systems, which have been utilised by industrial partners and synthesists worldwide.

John's research has been presented at major conferences such as NIME and UbiMus, with publications addressing physical computing, controlled randomness in music, digital storytelling, and ubiquitous music practices. This includes his work which interrogates the role of electronic music as an important agent in local NI culture.

He maintains the brrr.ink platform to document personal explorations in synthesis, creative coding, electronics, and audiovisual tools, often exploring the novel combination of toolsets and drawing inspiration from the natural landscapes of Donegal to blend organic and electronic elements in experimental performances and user focussed AV installation works.