I'm Matthew Lyon, a technologist, musician, and artist.

As a technologist, I design build tools for working with information-dense and semantically-complex data. My tools have helped people save time, money, and lives. These have included analytics tools for regulated data across multiple industries, interactive code generators, dynamic systems visualizations, and domain-specific query languages. I offer fractional consulting services.

As a musician, I make songs with synthesizers, centered around melody and texture. I'd describe my style as "lofi cinematic".

As an artist, I make abstract images with photography, encaustic (wax) painting, printmaking, and code, playing with cycles of inadvertant pattern-making and decay.

Music

singles

compilations

Cover for Music For Magnolia Trees

Music For Magnolia Trees – Rouse the Fragments

26 May 2023
Cover for Music for Dotted Lines

Music for Dotted Lines – Passage of Remnants

25 May 2022
Cover for Music for Modern Discourse

Music for Modern Discourse – Dawn of Purpose

21 Sep 2021
Cover for Time Lapse

Time Lapse – Prelude To Blue Hour

25 Jun 2021

Writings

Understanding Time Zones

You think you want worldwide UTC – I think you're entitled. Stop treating what the clock says like a number and learn about the terminology of time

Consuming GraphQL Simply

A curl-focused introduction to GraphQL clients with a focus on learning the basics of using this powerful API tool

Dreaming of Jobs

Musing about the idea of a dream job, and how it must exist in a larger context of a dream life

Regretting the Golden Handcuffs

A story of the long tail of startup success, and an examination of costs not apparent or measured

Mistrusting Email Addresses

Email is a communication medium, not an authentication medium

Refining Software

How you might learn the wrong thigns from building the wrong thing quickly

Making Time For Quality

What does it mean to be creative in an age of instant gratification? An argument for patience and the process of refinement

Talks

Generating Tests With Properties

An introduction to Property-Based Testing, with a focus on practical examples

Making Music With Math

Exploring the relationship between music theory and math

Working with GraphQL for Client & Server

An introduction to GraphQL, with a focus on patterns for creating APIs

Computing Visual Art

Demonstrations of the relationships between visual art, math, and code

Minimum Viable Documentation

Some ideas about the role of documentation writing in the process of lean software development

Et Cetera

Matthew’s Linnstrument Page

a fan page for Roger Linn’s expressive MIDI controller

Linnstrument Chord Reference

Printable Chord Diagrams for the Linnstrument, or any other instrument using a fourths-based note grid

Golden Times

Golden Ratio calculator for musical time values

Tweeting, archived

What's left of 15 years of @[email protected]

Matthew Lyon 2023 — all rights reserved