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Can the city become a symphony? Electric cars are increasingly using synthesised sounds in order to mimic the recognisable noise of the internal combustion engine. I explore an alternative in which the sound that the cars generate changes according to its relationship to other road users and the environment.
A traffic simulation is used to power the movement of vehicles through different sections of road networks in London. From a street level perspective the motions of traffic combine the sounds to create soundscapes that are unique to the place and time. The roadside becomes a new context for sound – the city is the score.
![City Symphonies](http://www.markmckeague.com/content/work/3-city-symphonies/01-piccadilly.png)
Piccadilly Circus, Central London
![City Symphonies](http://www.markmckeague.com/content/work/3-city-symphonies/westminster2.png)
Parliament Square, Westminster
![City Symphonies](http://www.markmckeague.com/content/work/3-city-symphonies/bow1.png)
Row Roundabout, East London
![City Symphonies](http://www.markmckeague.com/content/work/3-city-symphonies/Groups.png)
Vehicles group themselves in an ordered sequence depending on direction of travel.
![City Symphonies](http://www.markmckeague.com/content/work/3-city-symphonies/Mapping%20interface.png)
Mapping tool showing road connections, traffic lights, and listener 'walking' path
![City Symphonies](http://www.markmckeague.com/content/work/3-city-symphonies/Max%20screenshot.png)
Traffic simulation and animation programmed in Processing talks to the sound engine built in MaxMSP. Each car is synthesised separately then processed through binaural spatialisation to create the street soundscape.
![City Symphonies](http://www.markmckeague.com/content/work/3-city-symphonies/Drawing%20vector%20maps.png)
Vector road paths are drawn based on satellite imagery then imported into traffic simulator.