WAV4KST is a project that I have created that uses real live weather data from across Cornwall to create a piece of music in a web browser.
There are many projects already in existence that work with sonfifying data, however this project is potentially unique in the sense that it uses server side PHP to function. The benefit of this being that the source code will run on any Apache web server that is configured with PHP. It will also work for any user without the need to install a third party engine such as SuperCollider or MaxMSP.
It might not be the nicest thing you’ve ever heard, or the fastest, but through it’s accuracy, sustainability, and accessibility, I’d like to think it earns itself a place in a nerdy corner of the internet.
To hear WAV4KST in action, visit: http://wav4kst.christopherbaker.me.uk
Credits
This project would certainly have not been possible without the support of these brilliant people:
- Photo by Danni Nicks
- Met Office for providing realtime weather information via DataPoint
- Bobulous for tools to help with XML data extraction in PHP
- Thomas Schmidt for providing a PHP class which (although required lots tweaking) assists in the compiling of multiple wav files.
- WordPress for providing their amazing blogging CMS
- And finally David Reading for giving me the chance to learn everything I know about coding
