Have you ever imagined what the sound of Aurora in the night sky would be like? Composer and electronic artist, JOY de ROSE decoded a mystery of Aurora, also known as the Roman goddess of dawn, through data sonification “Ephemeris”. Ephemeris means journal or diary in Greek. Data sonification, in the simplest sense, refers to the act of turning data into sound, it is basically like data storytelling or sound journalism. Data sonification composition from album AURORA Pt. 1: THE UNTOLD STORY, “Ephemeris” is a sonic journal of Aurora probability from 1991 to 2020.
Aurora is a, sometimes, visible sign when the Sun and Earth connect. Particles from solar wind interact with the Earth’smagnetosphere and this natural interaction creates the Aurora light phenomenon. NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center provided JOY de ROSE with data sets that were related with probability of Aurora occurrences and additional info, such as index of solar activity and Earth magnetic field change. JOY then mapped this data to the musical parameters through Csoundaudio programming software. Approximately nine data sets are paired with different musical parameters and created a “symphony of the mysterious light”.
“I was fascinated by the sound that data created. It feels like they are telling the story about the invisible, yet constant energy exchange between the sun and earth, and the history of outer space. It is very easy to disconnect from this invisible realm that feels far away from us, but it has always been there, consistently vibrant and mysteriously beautiful” JOY de ROSE said.
This data sonification is a part of the multimedia project “AURORA”, an immersive virtual reality Aurora Museum where the audience can experience the story of this spectacular natural phenomenon through magnificent audiovisuals that JOY de ROSE created.
Data sonification “Ephemeris” was released as an EP part of the album AURORA Pt. 1: The Untold Story and it is now available on all major streaming platforms.
Link: for JOY de ROSE
