Capture and transformation of urban soundscape data for artistic creation

José Alberto Gomes; Nuno Peixoto de Pinho; Filipe Lopes; Gustavo Costa; Rui Dias; Diogo Tudela; Álvaro Barbosa

doi:10.7559/citarj.v6i1.132

José Alberto Gomes CITAR/School of Arts, Portuguese Catholic University, Porto, Portugal
Nuno Peixoto de Pinho CITAR/School of Arts, Portuguese Catholic University, Porto, Portugal
Filipe Lopes University of Porto, Faculty of Engineering, Porto, Portugal
Gustavo Costa University of Porto, Faculty of Engineering, Porto, Portugal
Rui Dias University of Porto, Faculty of Engineering, Porto, Portugal
Diogo Tudela Independent Researcher
Álvaro Barbosa University of Saint Joseph, Macao, China; CITAR/School of Arts, Portuguese Catholic University, Porto, Portugal

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7559/citarj.v6i1.132

Keywords: Soundscapes, Data Reinterpretation, Networked Music, Composition, Data Visualization.

Abstract

URB is a research project designed to collect and store raw data from soundscapes analysis. This paper presents a survey about using URB based on the analysis of work developed by several artists, focusing on the description of their creative process and outcome. By comparing the processes and statements of each artists, the authors identified diverse systematic approaches to reinterpreting raw data provided by urban soundscapes, raising questions about the artistic outcomes vs original sound sources. Furthermore, some considerations are inferred about the artistic relevance of using this process in the creation process.

Author Biographies

José Alberto Gomes, CITAR/School of Arts, Portuguese Catholic University, Porto, Portugal

José Alberto Gomes born in Porto in 1983.  In 2007 he completed a degree in Composition at the School of Music and Performing Arts, creating strong bonds with new technological possibilities and the role of music in music theater, film, installations and electronic improvisation. He taught in the courses of Electronic Music and Music Production - ESART, Audiovisual Communication and Multimedia - Lusófona University of Porto and Composition - ESMAE-IPP. He is the curator of the project Digitópia of Casa da Música Foundation. Currently is doing his PhD in Computer Music at Catholic University. He is creator in music and sound design for theater plays and videos; creation and programming interactive sound installations; and composing for electronic and instrumental ensembles.

Nuno Peixoto de Pinho, CITAR/School of Arts, Portuguese Catholic University, Porto, Portugal

Nuno Peixoto de Pinho, born in São João da Madeira (Portugal) in 1980. In 2003 he started is composition bachelors degree at the Escola Superior de Música e das Artes do Espectáculo (ESMAE) in Porto. Recently Nuno is doing is PhD in Composition at Universidade Católica do Porto (U.C.P) where he explores the musical data processing in a more specifically field "The Musical Reuse as a Creative Process Compositional" under the supervision of Erik Oña and Sofia Lourenço.

Filipe Lopes, University of Porto, Faculty of Engineering, Porto, Portugal

Filipe Lopes is an awarded composer, performer and an academic. His practice focuses on music composition, frequently encompassing electronic music, digital media, audiovisual installations, interactive digital systems and software development. He has composed music for performers and ensembles but also music for films, dance and theatre. In addition, he has also developed significant of work related to music education and new technologies. At the moment Filipe is doing a PhD in Digital Media at FEUP and UT | Austin. His research is focused on sound, space and identity.

Gustavo Costa, University of Porto, Faculty of Engineering, Porto, Portugal

Gustavo Costa was born in Porto, 1976. Studied percussion, music tecnology, sonology, composition, music theory and is currently attending a PhD in Digital Media at Feup, Porto on the subject of expressiveness and interactivity in computer music. His work as a musician and composer is based around underground counterculture, improvised and electroacoustic music. He has toured and recorded extensively around Europe, United States, Japan, Brasil and Lebanon.

Rui Dias, University of Porto, Faculty of Engineering, Porto, Portugal

Rui Dias was born in Braga – Portugal in 1974, where he studied classical and jazz piano. BA in Composition at the Music and Performing Arts School (ESMAE, 2005) in Porto, and MA in Multimedia at the Engineering Faculty of Porto University (FEUP, 2009), where he is currently a student in the UTA/Portugal Digital Media Ph.D. program. Teacher since 2005 and program director since 2007 of the Electronic Music and Musical Production program at the Applied Arts School of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco – Portugal.

Diogo Tudela, Independent Researcher

Diogo Tudela (Porto, 1987), completed a degree in "Sound and Image" in 2009 and a Masters in Digital Arts in 2011, both in the School of Arts of the Portuguese Catholic University. During his Masters, performed a short-lived stage in CITAR: Centre for Research on Science and Technology in Art, Porto, Portugal; and attended the Erasmus Intensive Programme "The Art of Sound / The Sound of Art", the Music Conservatory of Cosenza, Cosenza, Italy. Was speaker the "BEST Days on Technology'11" at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto; and "II National Meeting of Typography" at the University of Aveiro. Has exhibited work in events and spaces as "Future Places", "Serralves em Festa", "Glimpses of Autumn", "Semibreve Festival", "Project IMAN",etc. Recently designed and taught some workshops in Serralves, part of the team responsible for the exhibition "Close-Up”.

Álvaro Barbosa, University of Saint Joseph, Macao, China; CITAR/School of Arts, Portuguese Catholic University, Porto, Portugal

Álvaro Barbosa (Angola 1970) is an Associate Professor and Dean of the Creative Industries Faculty at University of Saint Joseph (USJ) in Macau SAR, China. Until September 2012, was the acting director of the Sound and Image Department at the School of Arts from the Portuguese Catholic University (UCP-Porto), co-founding in 2004 the Research Center for Science and Technology of the Arts (CITAR), in 2009 the Creative Business Incubator ARTSpin and in 2011 the Digital Creativity Center (CCD). Holding a PhD degree in Computer Science and Digital Communication from Pompeu Fabra University in Spain and a Graduate Degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from Aveiro University in Portugal, his academic activity is mainly focused on the field of Audio and Music Technology, in which he worked for five years as an Resident Researcher at the Barcelona Music Technology Group (MTG). His creative projects, in collaboration with other artists and researchers, have been extensively performed internationally, with special emphasis in Sound and Music Design, Collaborative Interactive Installations, Live Electronic Music, Computer Animation, Design Thinking and Systematic Creativity.

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