We live in a time in which sensors, wearable devices, and mobile phones produce large amounts of data. This data is collected, analyzed, and used by companies and governments in an attempt to manage and control the city in both decentralized and centralized ways. Although this management and control are supposed to contribute to the well-being and safety of citizens, in most cases citizens remain outside this circuit. In fact, they often do not participate in the generation, analysis, or use of the data, either because they do not have access to it or because they lack the knowledge required to carry out these tasks. In an attempt to design new data visualization interfaces and bring audiences closer to massive datasets in a creative way, RAIN BEATS emerges—a project that seeks to transform data into sensory experiences. It is an Internet-connected installation that retrieves and processes atmospheric data (BIG DATA) and transforms it into digital musical scores that are later converted into sound. It is an intelligent machine that processes data obtained from satellites monitoring the Earth, constantly deconstructing the environment into numbers and using them as raw material to create soundscapes. We could say, therefore, that RAIN BEATS is a machine that creates and performs “music made by the forces of nature.”

https://isea2022.isea-international.org/event/artwork-rain-beats/