I was inspired by “Cloudburst” a Jazz song by Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross from 1960. The fast rhythms and vocal acrobatics of the singers really draw you in and make you want to move. I wanted to encapsulate this groovy feeling with a more electronic style and encourage my audience to tap their foot or dance. I used the opening rift and chord progressions from Cloudburst as the foundation of my track. Layered on top are some Jazz nods such as a repetitive high hat and saxophone in the chorus. These jazzy sounds combine with more EDM riffs, to transform it into a very spacey tinny feel. Since I am not a musician, this was especially challenging. I found it would be easy to fall out or key or off beat. I think there are still parts that don’t sound quite right, but I am happy with the overall upbeat nature of the piece. Looking up sheet music, using a MIDI keyboard, and watching tutorials helped the track come to fruition. My goal is to make a heavier EDM track in the future, with a super pronounced drop.
Designing Club Culture
Week 2: Speculative Concert Poster /
These speculative posters were designed for the music artist Disclosure. The duo’s distinct scribble face logo has always been graphically appealing to me. I like the single contour line and how it creates a sense of anonymity and graffitti when overlaid atop other images. As creators of electronic music, I felt the aesthetic of the posters should be bold, clean, and minimalist. I chose statues (“The Thinker” by Auguste Rodin & The Statue of Liberty) that are infamous and carry their own connotations, but also exist in tour locations - which is bolded. I like the idea of a series of related posters that highlight the city the band is performing in.
Designing Club Culture: Audio-Visual Sculptures /
I’d Like to Change the World by Ten Years After
This is a pretty literal visual, but I wanted to create a distortion to an image over time. The guitar parts without percussion and the airy sound of the vocalist inspired me to create something with a gooey movement.
Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing by Stevie Wonder
My visual interpretation of this song is very colorful to evoke an upbeat mood.
Link to p5.js sketch.
My Generation by The Who
For this last sculpture I struggled with executing what I imagined. The lyrics of the song struck me, as well as its call and response structure. I feel like it lends itself to an interactive piece. I wanted to play with the idea of stopping the song after the lead sings and it would only continue after the user responds (clicks button, maybe). I also think it would be interesting if the words (from user input) appeared during the response segments, these would represent what users consider their “generation”.
