Drift

Concept, Design, Development

An experiment creating a browser-based ambient music generator that responds to environmental sounds. The goal was to create something subtle, lightly responsive, and listenable for extended periods of time. Inspired by Brian Eno, Massive Attack, whale songs, and water. I wanted to play with the properties of sound interpretation and to explore that sweet spot of relaxation and agency.

I imagined this as something for a public space, museum or immersive experience. Or for the subway to counteract the sound of other passengers watching TikTok without headphones. And, finally, I wanted something I could listen to for hours while I work.

Best with headphones or on some decent speakers.

Visualizations

it’s a sound-based project but a picture is worth a thousand words. Here’s what Drift might look like in a few public spaces. The visualization and soundscape could also be adapted to a specific space. Additionally, the display technology could be adjusted to accommodate projection, an LED wall, lasers on fog, etc. I opted for a simple brower-based experience because I wanted to share the prototype without requiring downloads or site visits. My inspiration for this prototype was water but the system could easily be customized to have a unique voice for a specific location.