Tunnel Divisions

University of Waterloo, 2014
Université Paris 8, 2014

Tunnel Divisions is a sound installation/ music composition created in collaboration with the City As Platform Lab. The piece is an attempt to use sound and human-generated data to map and divide a space, as well as cultivate the traffic patterns of an underground tunnel as a means to play with the concepts of time and movement in physical space and musical notation.

The piece utilizes 5 PIR motion sensors and Max/ MSP. The 5 sensors are used to divide an underground tunnel into four measures of music. Individuals moving through the tunnel trigger piano notes, the output of which is divided into two sets of speakers. The speed with which individuals move from one sensor to the next determines both the tempo of the subdivisions of notes, as well as the complexity of the note phrases, and the scheduling of key changes. The left and right audio channels are positioned at opposite ends of the tunnel, and rhythmically echo each other across different octaves and playing dynamics.

A four hour recording was made March 28, 2014 in the underground tunnel connecting South Campus Hall to Arts Lecture Hall at the University of Waterloo between 12:00pm and 4:00pm.

The output of the piece is generative and of indeterminate length.