Project Overview

Subway symphony is a reimagining of what the NYC subway might sound like, envisioned by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem.

Frustrated with the annoying beeps produced when MetroCards were swiped, James imagined a world where each turnstile in a station would harmonize with the others, creating an emergent symphony of sound each time a rider passed through the turnstiles.

With funding from Heiniken, we were able to bring James's vision to reality by constructing a replica turnstile system and audio system, installed as a pop-up exhibition at Brooklyn Bridge / City Hall station in the summer of 2015.

My contributions

The project was a collaboration between myself, Hypersonic, James Murphy, and Heiniken.

I was responsible for the sound design and the electronics driving the installation.

• Custom electronics for each turnstile:
  • Motor driver and sensors for driving each turnstile through the 1/3 rotation cycle
  • Infrared sensor for detecting "metrocard" swipes (designed so any card would activate the system)
  • Subway-esque turnstile lighting
• Sound design and control system for the 6 turnstiles incorporating:
  • Audio synthesis and playback system for the turnstiles
  • Performances that would showcase the installation to passersby when no one was interacting
  • MIDI-driven control of the turnstile motors, allowing for synchronization with Ableton Live