Kristine Kim- Looking Outwards-10

Weather Thingy, created by Adrien Kaeser at ECAL( Media and Interaction Design Unit), is a custom hand built sound controller that uses real time climate-related events to control and modify the settings of musical instrument.  The device are made up of two main parts in which are a weather station on a tripod microphone and a custom built controller connected to the weather station. The controller is formulated with a brightness sensor and an interface allowing it to assign the various parameters received to audio effects and it transform climatic data into midi data which can be interpreted by instruments.  

Kaeser was interested in being able to use the controller in Live so that the listeners can feel the impact of the climate on the composition.  It is also possible to use the device in the studio by pre-recording the climate data of a certain place at a certain time. This allows the musician to capture moments that he has found inspiring to create new melodies. I was really interested in this piece because of Kaeser’s use of technology and nature. Not just naturalistic ideas or a project derived from an idea of nature but the actual form and nature. I don’t recall seeing any projects that incorporated such an intricate technique of technology and weather together. I was very impressed by the all prototypes and the process of turning this project into reality. I also admire that it can be controlled live so that the audience can feel the real time impact of the climate on the work.