Hamish Robb is a Baltimore-based programmer, improviser, and composer of experimental and adventurous music. They make sounds of many natures that explore contradictions: synthetic/organic, rigid/liquid, sprawling/confined. In 2022, they earned a B.A. in Computer Science and Musical Studies from Oberlin College & Conservatory. Currently, they are pursuing a M.M. in Computer Music from the Peabody Institute, studying with Sam Pluta.

While growing up in suburban Connecticut, their brief first career as a middle school trumpeter was strongly panned by critics. After dusting off their parents' records at age 13, they began a lifelong and obsessive love of music. Inspired by King Crimson, Radiohead, and David Bowie, they picked up guitar and quickly developped a DIY attitude towards music making. They released countless bizarre and confrontational CDr tapes that may be haunting Connecticut to this day. They studied jazz guitar with Chris Anander and later played in ensembles at the Hartt School of Music.

While studying at Oberlin, they joined the TIMARA community and fell in love with electronic and experimental music. In tandem with their computer science studies, they learned Supercollider and Max/MSP. They were mentored by fellow student Jack Hamill on composition, serial techniques, and non-western experimental music.

Part of their work engages with chaos in algorithmic composition and sound-generating techniques. They primarily use VCV Rack to create maximalist glitch music. Of note is their first album of unbridled synthesis, Machine Harm: The Harm of a Machine in Full Decimality, as well as their networked improvisation piece for laptop ensemble, Bruxist’s Mesh.

In addition to their digital music, they frequently work with analog synthesizers and have built an expansive collection of DIY kit modules. At Oberlin, they re-founded and lead the Oberlin Synthesizer Ensemble where they composed performance pieces and taught the principles of modular synthesis.

At Peabody, they lead and participate in many ensembles. They have been an assistant director of the Peabody Laptop Ensemble with Lyn Goeringer and Ted Moore since Fall 2023. They are also the director of the student-run VVAVES Concert Series and produce concerts featuring student performers and bands.