Listen to a symphony composed from multiple iPhones
'Monitress' was created by Jon Leidecker, AKA Wobbly, for Hausu Moutain Records
A symphony has been composed from multiple iPhones by San Francisco multimedia artist Jon Leidecker, AKA Wobbly.
'Monitress' will land via the Chicago label Hausu Mountain Records, marking the producer and improviser's debut on the imprint, and his first release under said moniker since 2002.
The remarkable work involved a number of Apple's iconic devices running pitch-tracking apps and synthesisers. Each was sent an audio signal that was converted into MIDI data, driving the synth. Using an analogue mixer, those sounds were then routed together.
"The pitch-tracking apps are prone to errors, especially when presented with complex multiphonics or polyphonies; they get quite a few notes fascinatingly wrong," Leidecker said.
"But more striking is the audible reality of their listening to each other. Unison lines are an elemental sign of musical intelligence; we are entrained to emotional reactions when hearing multiple voices attempting the same melody.
"These machines may not meet our current criterion for consciousness, but every audience I’ve played this piece in front of quickly realises they're not listening to a solo."
The final results are best experienced in a live setting with between three and six devices 'singing along' together, according to the creator. Nevertheless, we've embedded a recorded version below, so take a listen before brushing up on the impending return of Apple's iPod and how the tech giant does not intend to kill off Apple Music downloads.
