INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH


Interdisciplinary Research on Audification of Earthquake Data

Manuela Meier's research in the field of audification of earthquake data was first conducted in 2007-08 at the Institute for Electronic Music and Acoustics of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Austria (Institut für Elektronische Musik und Akustik der Kunstuniversität Graz – IEM, in collaboration with Anna Saranti.
The ongoing project seeks to explore the potential of sonification of scientific data (and in this case audification in particular) in order to improve the prediction of earthquakes, focusing on the aural perception and recognition of aural patterns within seismometer recordings.

The subsequent artistic output – the multi-channel electroacoustic composition underground sounds (2007) – has also been discussed and published in the Proceedings of the ICMC International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) 2008, and was presented at the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD) 2008 and the Linux Audio Conference (LAC) 2008, and performed at the festivals and concerts listed below.

Manuela Meier's piece refract.ed (2009) focuses even more on the sonic detail of the audified data of earthquakes. refract.ed is one of her most performed pieces to date, and has been discussed in lectures and been performed throughout Europe, Australia, Mexico and the US.


underground sounds (2007)

2008 – underground sounds at Sonorities 2008- Festival of Contemporary Music, Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC), Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)

2008 – Paper Presentation underground sounds - Sonic Explorations with Earthquake Data, in collaboration with Anna Saranti, and concert underground sounds at International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) 2008, Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC), Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)

2008 – Poster Presentation on Sonic Explorations with Earthquake Data at the International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD) 2008 at Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM), Paris, France

2008 – underground sounds at Linux Audio Conference (LAC) 2008, Closing Concert, Academy of Media Arts, Cologne, Germany

2007 – underground sounds at Festival Next Generation, ZKM Medientheater, Center for Art and Media (Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie – ZKM), Karlsruhe, Germany

2007 – undergrond sounds at the Institute for Electronic Music and Acoustics of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Austria (Institut für Elektronische Musik und Akustik der Kunstuniversität Graz – IEM), world premiere


refract.ed (2009)

Performances of refract.ed

2015 – CCRMA Listening Room, Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University Dept. of Music, California, US, original 4-channel version

2012 – International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) 2012, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Slovenian premiere

2012 – Djerassi Artist Residence Programme, SMIP Ranch, Woodside, California, US teaser, stereo version

2011 – Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne, Australia, Australian premiere

2011 – Laboratorio Sensorial, Guadalajara, Mexico

2011 – Centro Mexicano para la Música y las Artes Sonoras (CMMAS), Morelia, Mexico, Mexican premiere

2011 – Linux Audio Conference (LAC) 2011, National University of Ireland (NUI) Maynooth, Ireland, Irish premiere

2009 – Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music 2009, Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC), Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)

2009 – Sonic Lab, Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC), Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK), world premiere


Lectures on and presentations of refract.ed:

2015 – Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University Dept. of Music, California, US

2012 – DRAP Open Day, Djerassi Artist Residency Program, SMIP Ranch, Woodside, California, US

2012 – University of Auckland, School of Music, New Zealand

2011 – Adam Concert Room, Te Koki New Zealand School of Music, Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand

2011 – New York University (NYU) Music Department, New York City, US