Inception App

Inception App

One of strangest app I installed on my new iPhone is the inception app. The best way to describe it would be experimental audio. The program basically remixes ambient sounds it picks up with the microphone and tries to build music out of it. The type of music is inferred from the phone’s context (movement, speed, position, but also the weather, the time of the day). The result is not always very harmonious, but I like what it does when I use it walking, I like having my own soundtrack for my life. While this kind of things has been experimented with earlier, I’m sure, but this is app is a clean package. Given its price (free), the fact it is based on a soundtrack I like (Inception) it certainly gave me a few hours worth of listening. One nice effect is when there is a sharp sound in reality, it gets repeated at lower pitches with some echo, this gives a dream-like dimension to any beeping machine.

Now that the naughties come to an end, one thing I’m happy about is the change in focus in experimentation. There has also been video experiments that tried to bring listener data into the clip: Arcade Fire – Wilderness Down­town, and Sour – Mirror, both worth trying out. I still remember the multi-media experiments of Prince and others. Video-clips where you can look around are quickly boring and except if you are a die-hard fan, their inner universes are not that interesting. Having the artist remix the sounds of my life makes way more sense that me trying to remix the artist’s sounds.

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