A collaboration between Owl Project (artists Simon Blackmore, Antony Hall and Steve Symons), producer Ed Carter and architect Nicky Kirk, Flow is a floating tide mill housing hand-crafted musical machines, which generate sounds in response to the changing environment of the River Tyne.
The three sonic instruments – the Salinity Sampler Sequencer, the Turbidatron and the Bubble Synth + Bellows – combine traditional wood-craft with precision engineering and digital technology, drawing water samples from the river and measuring its salinity, turbidity (muddiness) and chemical composition. Data readings are then translated into electro-acoustic sounds to generate real-time compositions that fluctuate with the changing tides.
Flow is moored on the north bank of the River Tyne, opposite BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. The mill is free to board, and is open to the public from 25 March.
Links
www.flowmill.org
owlproject.com
winternorthatlantic.com
modular.org.uk
nickykirk.co.uk
Other Artists taking the Lead commissions: www.artscouncil.org.uk
