Where is the boundary between sound and music? What is the difference between the forms of natural and synthetic life? Some say there is a line to draw in the sand, others see the reflection of forms within each other. Is this reflection a form of conflict or corroboration?
Through the medium of generative sound and visuals, we aim to explore this relationship between industry and nature; man and nature. Symphonic EDM tracks drive the experience, weaving together the chaotic and powerful sounds of nature with synthetic man-made beats. The music is what drives the interaction. Viewers of the experience can navigate the visuals, attempt to view them from another angle. But throughout it, the forms remain constant. The beats holding the steady thrum, their representation the perfect square, a shape impossible to find in nature, entirely man-made. They pulse with the red light, the beating heart of an industry and the fire that fuels it.
Within the frame, the sounds of nature create chaotic sparks and noise. Trying to break the forms, the blue and green tones of the sounds attempt to wash away the red fire. The ever-growing conflict of man against nature. Technology has broken down the fibres of natural life, replacing them with synthetic digital forms.
The title of our experience “Tempora Muntantur” is a Latin adage that refers to the changes brought about by the passage of time. It is inevitable that nature will succumb to these changes of time and conflict with man’s desire for industrial growth. Yet this transformation is not set in concrete. For in the future, someday when man has disappeared and the sounds of industry fade into the abyss of the past, nature will have its turn again. Nature is patient, it is resilient, and that is why the sounds of nature will forever be present. Our skyscrapers stand today, but the trunks of trees will take their places again. Because below the sound of industry, nature fades and waits to reshape the fibres of the world again.
Audio mixed in Ableton is used to create generative responsive visuals through Max.