Most of this stream is composed from two applications– a radio receiver and a music synthesizer/sampler. The receiver is a modified open-source WiFi “sniffer”, designed to monitor a channel of 2.4GHz WiFi. It detects and tabulates network packets by their associated MAC addresses to send messages by OSC (Open Sound Control) to the music synthesizer/sampler to trigger sound production.
The synthesizer/sampler software was developed from SuperCollider to translate the tabulated WiFi activity of my neighborhood into triggers of samplers, synthesizers and live-coded SuperCollider synthesizers.
Patterns may emerge in real-time from combinations of the triggers detected from dozens of WiFi sources as they are played in a set of 20 instruments and in 20 notes of a selected mode. Several instances of the synthesizer software might play simultaneously the same triggers on multiple hardware, allowing any signal to be expressed in varieties of combinations across the software instances.
The client application may function independently of WiFi triggers as a sequencer, however synced with WiFi-triggered instances and Ableton. OSC facilitates network transmission of trigger data such that remote triggers of remote WiFi environments might be processed locally, in combination with local data.
Current development has focused on creating a GUI to serve as a platform for improvisation and performance. This year, new data visualization was developed to provide real-time feedback of network conditions and sound distribution. Significantly, a novel pattern sequencer arose from the same framework, allowing for synchronized play with the network triggers. Current, local weather data determines the tempo of this stream, recalculated every 10 minutes.
WiFi Player (2024/10)
Sequencer (2024/10)
Listening: The purpose of this web site is to stream a live, rolling test of iterations of the software in combination with various hardware or within new network configurations. During commuting hours– 0600 – 1000 EST and 1600 – 1800 EST, a recognizable change of activity can be heard. The cell phone WiFi detected from users of a nearby busy roadway and commuter train often disrupt an otherwise perceivable background pattern of the neighborhood networks. The simplest neighborhood patterns is found after 0000 ET.