Ever wonder what the flow of electricity sounds like?
This afternoon, Nora interviewed Peter Rukavina about a mashup he built that takes information about the flow of energy between New Brunswick and PEI, and turns it into music. In a recent blog post, Peter explains how he built the tool, using Pachube and the SoundCloud API.
A shorter version of this interview will air alongside Nora’s interview with Pachube founder Usman Haque on Spark 152. You can hear the full, uncut interview below, or download the MP3. [runs 13:12]
Play audio:
If you like hearing these extended interviews, why not subscribe to Spark Plus? You’ll get regular weekly episodes, plus additional blog-only content like this. [Subscribe via RSS] or [Subscribe with iTunes]
I've posted a bootleg of this interview to SoundCloud with some annotations and web links to things that Nora and I talked about. See http://soundcloud.com/ruk/cbc-spark-interview-sou…
I have another example of making music from electrical data, plant growth data.
I heard it on the Cbc Radio 2's the Signal of Mamoru Fujieda's
Patterns of Plant project.
Below are his descriptions from http://www.forcedexposure.com/artists/fujieda.mam…
Patterns of Plants
"Generating melodic material through the micro-changes of surface-electric potential on leaves,
Mamoru Fujieda's 2nd Tzadik release was composed completely based on data taken from plants.
Combining alternate tuning systems (just intonation, Pythagorean) with traditional instruments
of China and Japan (sho, koto and the ancient 25-stringed zither, the hitsu),
Fujieda has again created a world of sound never before imagined possible.
Delicate and subtle variations of tone and timbre give a whole new life to classical musical
forms such as the passacagalia and strophic variations in this bizarre and
fascinating mixture of European Medieval music, the traditions of Asia and modern science."
Patterns of Plant II
"In his third CD for Tzadik, Mamoru Fujieda continues his fascinating exploration of the creativity of,
by and about plant life with five more pieces from his continuing series Patterns of Plants.
Utilizing the violin in combination with two Japanese traditional instruments, the koto and the sho (mouth organ),
Fujieda has again created a sensuous and evocative musical universe, unique in sound and conception
that both challenges the idea of composer and composition in the 21st century.
Modest in approach but orchestral in design, this is another masterful CD from one of the
most original and radical composers in Japan today."
Enjoy