Origin
Discogs was founded 25 years ago by Kevin Lewandowski who created the platform to upload his electronic music records. From there, it evolved into an open community, an open-source database where everything can be updated and modified, with all users contributing their input.
Origin is an installation that celebrates the birth of the platform and the genre it emerged from, evoking the imagery of that era and all the actions that have created and continue to build the Discogs archive and community.
Music is not just made of notes but of scenarios, stories, and places. Origin aims to celebrate music as a collection of sensations it generates, connecting different worlds, eras, and people. The idea behind this experience is to transform the auditory and visual analyses conducted on Discogs albums and the electronic genre into a tangible experience. Users actively participate in creating new covers, which will become part of a new generative archive, a strong testament to the continuous evolution of music and the Discogs community.
Origin is an installation that celebrates the birth of the platform and the genre it emerged from, evoking the imagery of that era and all the actions that have created and continue to build the Discogs archive and community.
Music is not just made of notes but of scenarios, stories, and places. Origin aims to celebrate music as a collection of sensations it generates, connecting different worlds, eras, and people. The idea behind this experience is to transform the auditory and visual analyses conducted on Discogs albums and the electronic genre into a tangible experience. Users actively participate in creating new covers, which will become part of a new generative archive, a strong testament to the continuous evolution of music and the Discogs community.
University project
Information Design Lab
2024
Information Design Lab
2024
Interactive installation
Sound design
Photogrammetry
3D modeling
Rendering
Visual Identity
Sound design
Photogrammetry
3D modeling
Rendering
Visual Identity
The experience begins from the outside, where users' attention is drawn through sound coming from the internal environment and informational and representative spots. Inside the experience, there are three screens and a MIDI keyboard placed in the center of the room. The first side screen displays a sample of 300 covers, divided into three libraries, each corresponding to a different world and style. The album covers, taken from Discogs, were categorized and analyzed in a previous data visualization intervention.
These libraries were developed in p5.js, and using the keyboard knob it’s possible to view them individually. Additionally, they control the dominant color of each visual on the second screen, thanks to a specific CSV extracted in Python and subsequently inserted into TouchDesigner. On the second screen, we find generative visuals belonging to the previously mentioned worlds. The visuals are an aesthetic summary of the analyses conducted on the covers of the first screen, allowing for the generation of additional covers. Each world retains a different sound and harmony based on the selected visual and style. All the previously generated visuals will compose the third screen, which will update as changes are made on the second, allowing the user to contribute to creating a new generative archive.
All the keyboard keys have been parameterized and associated with a sound and various parts of the visual through TouchDesigner, Ableton and p5.js.
These libraries were developed in p5.js, and using the keyboard knob it’s possible to view them individually. Additionally, they control the dominant color of each visual on the second screen, thanks to a specific CSV extracted in Python and subsequently inserted into TouchDesigner. On the second screen, we find generative visuals belonging to the previously mentioned worlds. The visuals are an aesthetic summary of the analyses conducted on the covers of the first screen, allowing for the generation of additional covers. Each world retains a different sound and harmony based on the selected visual and style. All the previously generated visuals will compose the third screen, which will update as changes are made on the second, allowing the user to contribute to creating a new generative archive.
All the keyboard keys have been parameterized and associated with a sound and various parts of the visual through TouchDesigner, Ableton and p5.js.
A project by Luca Chiavaroli, Giulia Digiorgio, Valentina Ugolini, Luca Trentalange and Luca Zanetti
Supervision by Marco Luitprandi and Giorgio Uboldi