Variations
Variations explores the evolving visual and auditory landscape of ambient electronic music album covers from 1966 to today, focusing on a sample of approximately 8.500 covers from the Discogs database. It unfolds in three phases that offer a multi-sensory interpretation of how album art connects to its musical genre.
University project
Information Design Lab
2024
Information Design Lab
2024
Data Visualization
Interactive and audio-responsive experience
Interactive and audio-responsive experience
EXPLORATION
The first part of the project consists of an interactive system that through input allows the exploration of covers of the genre of experimental ambient electronic music. On one axis is the timeline, from 1966 to the present, on the other is the popularity of the album. The scale of the images shows how sought after that cover is, meaning how many people have added it to their wishlist.
The first part of the project consists of an interactive system that through input allows the exploration of covers of the genre of experimental ambient electronic music. On one axis is the timeline, from 1966 to the present, on the other is the popularity of the album. The scale of the images shows how sought after that cover is, meaning how many people have added it to their wishlist.
COLOR ANALYSIS AND SONIFICATION
The second part of the project analyzes the saturation of album covers over time, from 1966 to the present. This analysis is applied both visually and through sound.The scatter plot was generated using ImageJ, while the soundtrack was created using Sonify, then imported into Ableton, and converted into a MIDI track to create a multi-layered piece using instruments relevant to the chosen music genre.
The second part of the project analyzes the saturation of album covers over time, from 1966 to the present. This analysis is applied both visually and through sound.The scatter plot was generated using ImageJ, while the soundtrack was created using Sonify, then imported into Ableton, and converted into a MIDI track to create a multi-layered piece using instruments relevant to the chosen music genre.
ATMOSPHERES AND PLAYLISTS
The third part showcases the different facets of the genre through audio-visual playlists.The initial database was manually divided into categories, thus creating clusters of images that are similar to each other. The predominant resulting categories show a propensity for natural images and textures, distorted faces, and abstract images reminiscent of space. The images from each category were then arranged by similarity using PicArrange, processed, and edited to be audio-reactive.
The third part showcases the different facets of the genre through audio-visual playlists.The initial database was manually divided into categories, thus creating clusters of images that are similar to each other. The predominant resulting categories show a propensity for natural images and textures, distorted faces, and abstract images reminiscent of space. The images from each category were then arranged by similarity using PicArrange, processed, and edited to be audio-reactive.
Supervision by Giorgio Uboldi