Campbell Scientific, Leicestershire based meteorological
equipment manufacturers, are sponsoring a unique musical art
project, Variable 4 which climaxes in a 24 hour installation in
May.
The artists will be setting up Campbell Scientific instruments
at Dungeness in Kent to monitor changes in the weather which will
be fed live into specially written software and used to create
unique patterns of custom composed musical forms, this will be
broadcast live on-site for the 24 hour period using speakers subtly
blended into the landscape. It is hoped that the output will also
be streamed over the internet.
"This is an exciting project; a fantastic blend of
meteorological science and art. We are used to requests for
sponsorship of science projects but this was so left field we just
had to get involved. We have lent the guys the kind of weather
station normally used in research projects in some of the most
challenging environments on the planet - so a spring day on a Kent
beach will make a pleasant change." Said Iain Thornton, marketing
manager for Campbell Scientific. "It will be fascinating to see how
the composers interpret and integrate different weather parameters
into the final piece - of course the number of possible
combinations of the different inputs mean that no two moments will
ever be the same. We would encourage anyone who can get to
Dungeness to visit in order to experience what will be a unique
multi-sensory experience."
The project, brainchild of experimental artists and composers
Daniel Jones and James Bulley, has been awarded funding by
the PRS for Music Foundation. "We hope that many visitors will stay
for the full 24 hours so as to experience the full range of
transitions." Said Jones "The equipment is pretty sensitive and
monitored virtually in real time so even small variations
will change the output".
The RNLI have kindly agreed to accommodate the event at their
their lifeboat station on Dungeness seafront, final date in May
tbc.
For more information on Campbell Scientific Europe please view
their website here: www.campbellsci.co.uk