Carsten Nicolai:

Sound Visualised

IntroductionLooking back at Carsten Nicolai’s Work you straight away notice a few things; Complexion, Sound and Theory. These three traits are what I wanted to bring across with this experiment called “Sound Visualised”. The concept behind this project is to develop and progress some of the already existing research Nicolai has up taken when it comes to sound visualisation. Nicolai’s work tends to attempt to visualise sound in a number of ways be it through digital work or analogue, and the same happens when working as his alter ego ‘Alva Noto’; with him supporting his music visually, and his music supporting his visuals.

Thats why I wanted to attempt to visualise a number of musical genres to their core. This experiment got me to look at synthesesia, the meaning of colour to create visuals that were generated by the ‘audio’, that for once would be represented by print.

These are the results of my experiments...

Ellie goulding - starryeyed dnbMusic Choice :

Drum & Bass

Dark Green is the colour associated with Drum & Bass, representitive of ambition, greed, jealousy and envy. When it comes to this genre of music it is very much about up tempo beats, drums, volume, music that gets you up and at it. To try and display this, along with the fact that this sort of music is often used by sports stars, before an activity, I tried to recreate a visual that really embodied these words. Having a set of soundwaves, animate themselves towards the music I chose this particular shot, because it embodied the high’s and low’s of Drum & Bass, the harshness of it and the repetition, meaning the image can essentially speak for the genre.

Ellie Goulding - Your Song Music Choice :

Dubstep

Turqouise is the colour associated with dubstep. It represents greed, envy but also polar opposites of calm and sophistication. Dubstep for me is a mix of depth and power, due to its bass influenced sound, but their is also something peaceful and classic about it due to its sampling nature. The image below is a representation of all those things; The curviture and colour’s representing the sounds softness while the impacting particles and the shading its forcefulness.

Ke$ha - sleazy 2.0 remixMusic Choice :

Hip Hop

Dark Blue is the colour associated with Hip Hop. It represents loyalty, wisdom, intelligence and truth, characteristics often associated with the genre. Hip Hop as a genre is all about story telling & serious messages at heart, but at the same time it represents the most eclectic of genres, with it being a mish mash of many, due to it being the main genre to use sampling. To represent this genre I decided to go with a very simple idea, to represent Hip Hop as what it is, a multi layered genre. The image is essentially based on a ‘soundwave’ which was turned on its head, creating a speaker, boombox, one of the roots of hip hop music.

Michael Jackson - Dont stopMusic Choice :

Disco

Purple is the colour associated with Disco, associated with things such as romanticism and magic. Having chosen an iconic track to create the imagery to represent the Disco genre, it was a matter of really understanding what defines it as a genre. The image above uses repetition, kaleidescopes, patterns and geometry.. a really unique image. Something I believe Disco was at its prime, it was around for a short burst, was different too everything else, was a craze open to everyone and had that feeling of ‘magic; about it. The image definitely embraces the genre, and its eccentric

Daughtry - there and back againMusic Choice :

Rock

Red is the colour associated with Rock. The colour is very much about war, strength and power, something very reminiscent of rock music. Using a very typical rock track, I experimented with a range of particle physics to try and create something, chaotic and bursting at the seams. The reaction to the music was very much bipolar with the outcome at times being very subtle and at times being all over the place. The above shot though I felt summed up the track and rock, due to the two different ranges on show, the flow of the music bursting out from the middle and dying down the further we go.

marina & the diamonds - primadonnaMusic Choice :

Pop

Yellow is the colour associated with Pop music. The colour represents joy, happiness and intellect, very much seen as the ‘watered down’ genre. The genre combines what is popular at the relevant time (be it hip hop, rock etc.) and simplifies it, making it easier to listen to, widening its audience. The above visuals takes notes from the chaotic rock visual, the organic hip hop and dubstep visuals, to create its own. The visual speaks of this multi layered genre and how it can be misinterpreted and understood in a number of ways due to its ever changing roots.

clint mansell - Leaving EarthMusic Choice :

Classical

Light Blue is the colour associated with the Classical Genre. The colour symbolises depth, stability, tranquillity and softness. Classical, by its name tends to mean something that has been around for a number of years, but the genre it self has also been constantly adapting too keep relevant. The above image is a very organic, adaptable shape, just like its relevant music genre, changing shape and tone as the music adapts, the above shot catching this beautiful moment in action.

konrad ziemlewski