Instructions
INSTALLATION
1. Install the free Holon app from the Apple App Store:
2. Please grant all the requested permissions, the location-based content won’t work otherwise.
It’s important that you grant the location request “Allow While In Use” or “Always Allow”, when prompted.
3. Open the Holon app and select "Chatham" from the menu (top right).
4. Place phone in a pocket, wear headphones and explore the places marked on the map.
PS. When not using, turn off Holon to conserve battery (press the big button).
ABOUT THE INSTALLATION
Chatham - A Sonic Memory Palace is a city-wide, interactive music installation that is driven by the activity of the listener and proximity to certain locations of interest.
In order to hear/perform the piece, you’ll need an iPhone (sorry, Android not possible), and a data plan (amount of data is low). Headphones or in-vehicle audio required for perceptual feedback (AirPods Pro recommended with transparency mode). Since the technology relies on GPS (satellite) coverage, you’ll need to be outdoors and in the Chatham/Rochester area, where the special content is activated.
Holon is an auditory Mixed Reality app that works best when used passively, by placing the phone in a pocket. This helps the software to detect coupled body movements.
For example, the tempo of the music is synchronised to your step rate (this may take 10 seconds of continuous walking to be calculated).
Proximity to amenities, such as street furniture (benches, rubbish bins), also pubs, shops etc adjusts the intensity of the music.
Different areas (marked on this map) make the generated music adapt to the current area. Some areas are decidedly industrial, others slowly wash out into reverberant spaces, while the high street has a townie sound to it. Try approaching amenities in attractor areas for some looping feedback improvisation.
Musical sequences and events are created from geospatial data and environmental data in real time. The direction you are walking in, time of day and the position of the Sun/Moon all influence the music in various ways. For example, cloud cover determines the musical scale in this patch, while activity/speed is used to trigger notes.