Caught between Netflix binges and digital detoxes, Americans can’t decide whether they love or hate technology. Despite being a pioneer of electronic music, the composer Steve Reich has maintained a similar ambivalence throughout his long career. Decades before the Grammy- and Pulitzer-winning heyday that has made him one of this country’s most renowned artists, Mr. Reich struggled with the very technology that first brought him fame.

On Monday, Oct. 3, he turns 80, a milestone that has been celebrated in the music world all year. Then, on Nov. 1 at Carnegie Hall, comes the premiere of his new work, “Pulse.” For fans of Minimalism, the style Mr. Reich pioneered, the word “pulse” summons his most recognizable quality: From the pulsing of tape loops to the pulsing of voices, the hallmark of his style has always been a relentless rhythmic beat. But the idea of a pulse also figures large in his complicated relationship with technology.

Mr. Reich made his name in mid-1960s San Francisco. Experimenting with tape loops, he discovered what he subsequently dubbed “phasing” when he accidentally let two identical tape fragments gradually drift out of sync. In “It’s Gonna Rain” (1965) and “Come Out” (1966), Mr. Reich played recorded voices against themselves: As they “phased,” the voices began to reverberate, then echo and eventually blur into chaos.