Andrea Polli & Joe Gilmore

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5...according to our Mingus on Fri 02 May, 2008.

Andrea Polli & Joe Gilmore: N. (self released CD) Two sound artists come together to create an audio/visual installation commissioned by Sheffield's (UK) long running Digital Arts festival: Lovebytes.This 45 minute CD is part of the project in that it is a composition based on the "sonification of North Pole weather data from 2003 to 2006". Those familiar with the early minimalism of Eliane Radigue or the later tonal micro explorations of labels like Raster Noton, 12k, Rittornel and artists like Finlands Pan Sonic will appreciate the amazing attention to detail and confident approach to the placement of sound. To explain what it sounds like to the layman would probably do a disservice to the boffin like academicism. Needless to say, the tones, washes, clicks burrs and microscopic events call to mind an insect airport terminal- just to inject a little humour into this very serious, yet highly enjoyable listen. It's probably been said before, but this is one of the more accessible sound art CD's. If you're not familiar with this genre of music/sound art, then it's an ideal entry level start. Seek!

N. was commissioned by the Lovebytes International Festival of Digital Art and Media (Sheffield, UK). It is an artistic visualization and sonification (direct translation of data to sound) of real-time Arctic information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Arctic research program. The installation gathers weather and webcam data over the internet and uses the data to control sound and the playback of images. N. is an ongoing, evolving composition, directly tied to the turbulent weather of the North Pole. The composition is generative, constantly transforming in completely unexpected ways.
A portion of the raw sound material used is sourced from live global electromagnetic transmissions of the ionosphere of the Earth. The Inspire VLF (very low frequency) receiver at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is the source for this live audio stream.

N. makes use of a custom, open source external for Max/MSP called Datareader. Designed by Andrea Polli and Kurt Ralske, Datareader is designed to output scientific tables of data. Data Example

"The overall effect is mysterious; while giving an approximation of windswept desolation, it is also as melancholy as a whale song... It is remarkable that this work, almost entirely constructed from empirical scientific data, manages to produce such a palpable and emotive sense of loss."
– David Barrett, Art Monthly.

N. was nominated out of over 2600 entries for the Viper International Awards, The 2005 VIPER International Festival for Film and New Media in Basel, Switzerland.

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