Ethereal Whispers - Weather of Hyde Park by Jiaming Guo

How can sound recording and experimental composition based on non-human music create a multi-sensory experience of Hyde Park?

This album draws from a year of weather data in Hyde Park, spanning my time in London from September 17, 2022, to September 17, 2023. I translated 366 days of weather transitions into musical notes, with each note representing a day’s meteorological changes. In this album, weather becomes a silent musician, and I am merely an interpreter, translating its composition into melodies perceptible to human ears, presenting its unique creation in the language of musical notes.
Sonification:
The project uses sonification to transform weather data (such as wind speed, precipitation, and temperature) into music. Combined with natural recordings from Hyde Park, including bird songs, rustling leaves, and raindrops, it composes a unique "symphony" of the park, showcasing the rhythm and melody of nature.
Visualization:
Nature inherently possesses the four fundamental elements of music—form, harmony, melody, and rhythm—but has not been recognized as a "musician" due to the absence of written scores. This project designs a novel visualized sheet music system, combining the linear timeline of music with the dynamic changes in weather data. Through symbolic designs (e.g., willow branches for wind speed and raindrop sizes for precipitation), the audience can “hear” the park's music while also “seeing” its rhythm and harmony.
Connection Between Humans and Nature – Decentering Humans:
The project aims to go beyond human-centered design by assigning the label of "musician" to nature through music and visual art. It seeks to evoke a sense of reverence and reflection, encouraging audiences to reimagine the aesthetic of sound created by non-human life and the environment.
Reflection:
While the project attempts to decenter humans and assign the identity of "musician" to nature, this act is still rooted in human subjectivity and context. Concepts like "musician" hold no meaning for weather, trees, or birds themselves, creating an inherent paradox and irony within the work.