How would you like to let the river play a few sounds for you? Dubbed as ‘Flow’ and about to steal the spotlight at the Cultural Olympiad in UK, this innovative work of art in Newcastle floats on river surface and doles out tunes depending on the mood of the water source beneath it. Powered by a 4.5-metre-tall water wheel that is instrumental in bringing out the melodies, flow uses the power of the river to produce unique sounds and music patterns from various electro-acoustic instruments that have been used in the project.
Consider this to be similar to wind chimes which give you tunes depending on the force and direction of the wind. But in the case of Flow, there are far wider factors that affect the musical output like salinity, tidal strength, wave direction, speed and even strong surface winds which might affect the river surface. Also while your chimes make for a single instrument, Flow powers a multitude of instruments using its water wheel. In essence you are letting the mood of the river play out tunes for you!
The main creators of the project include artists like Ed Carter, Simon Blackmore, Antony Hall and Steve Symons along with architect Nicky Kirk and David Willcox who designed the heart of the project- the water wheel. So, if you live anywhere near the Cultural Olympiad, be sure to catch the array of musical display powered by river water. Just goes to showcase the many ways in which we can tap into green energy if we just let our imaginations fly!
Via: PSFK
