Signal to Noise Loops i++: Noise Water Air

Abstract

Signal to Noise Loops i++ is a live performance for the PerformIOT system. This system involves the application of techniques and concepts from the field of data-driven music to achieve a balanced co-ordination between algorithmic composition, live looping and improvisation in the context of live electronic music performance. The performance utilises Smart City IoT data drawn from sensors placed around Dublin City. From January to May of 2018 Ireland experienced a number of unusually strange weather events. Devices monitoring ambient noise levels, water levels and air quality measured the effects of these events on the city. While each of these streams of data represents an independent set of measurements for unique phenomena, they nonetheless share a commonly interrelated structure as they have been shaped by the recent history of strange weather events. This makes them useful for coordinating and balancing our live performance system because while they share similar characteristics and trajectories there is also enough variance between the different data streams to prevent the system from sounding too static and homogenous.