This song emulates a ride on the New York City Subway's 2 Train through three boroughs: Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx. At any given time, the quantity and dynamics of the song's instruments correspond to the median household income of that area.

Read more about the composition and process of creating this song here:
https://datadrivendj.com/tracks/subway

Data-Driven DJ (https://datadrivendj.com) by Brian Foo (http://brianfoo.com) is a series of music experiments that combine data, algorithms, and borrowed sounds.

Two Trains - Sonification of Income Inequality on the NYC Subway

This song generates a musical sequence using EEG brain wave data of an anonymous epilepsy patient. It examines the periods before, during, and after a seizure. The goal is to give the listener an empathetic and intuitive understanding of the brain’s neural activity during a seizure.

Please note: I have no formal education or training with diagnosing or interpreting a seizure using EEG brain scan data. I have done my own research to the best of my abilities, but all in all, this is a purely creative endeavor and should in no way be interpreted as scientific research or be used in any context other than in this creative one. For sake of transparency, I have detailed my process for creating this song in the link below and have made all relevant code publicly accessible. Feel free to reach out to me if you notice any glaring inaccuracies.

Learn more about the process of creating this song:
https://datadrivendj.com/tracks/brain 

Data-Driven DJ (datadrivendj.com) by Brian Foo (brianfoo.com) is a series of music experiments that combine data, algorithms, and borrowed sounds.

Rhapsody in Grey - Using Brain Wave Data to Convert a Seizure to Song

This song was created using data on race and attraction among heterosexual couples on OkCupid, a popular online dating website. At any given time, the song's percussion and vocals are controlled by the attraction (or lack thereof) between two racial groups. Read more about the composition and process of creating this song here:

https://datadrivendj.com/tracks/dating

Data-Driven DJ (https://datadrivendj.com) by Brian Foo (http://brianfoo.com) is a series of music experiments that combine data, algorithms, and borrowed sounds.

Mixed Attraction - A Song Mixed Using Data On Race And Attraction

This song analyzes the body of work of two famous abstract expressionist painters, Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock, who were married for 11 years. The song starts in 1929 with Krasner's early work, and spans 46 years of paintings which were created before and during the artists' marriage and after Pollock's death in 1956. The song's rhythm, notes, and instruments are controlled by the rhythm and color of the paintings by each artist over time.

http://datadrivendj.com/tracks/painters

Data-Driven DJ (http://datadrivendj.com) by Brian Foo (http://brianfoo.com) is a series of music experiments that combine data, algorithms, and borrowed sounds.

Lee and Jackson - The Rhythm and Sounds of Two Painters and Their Work

This song was generated by tracking the land loss in Coastal Louisiana over 78 years due to man-made levees, drilling and dredging for oil and gas, and climate change. The song's instruments stretch and diminish over time as more land becomes displaced with water. The data has been provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The song uses sound samples from the Rebirth Brass Band (http://www.rebirthbrassband.com), a New Orleans brass band.

https://datadrivendj.com/tracks/louisiana

Data-Driven DJ (http://datadrivendj.com) by Brian Foo (http://brianfoo.com) is a series of music experiments that combine data, algorithms, and borrowed sounds.

Too Blue - Mapping Coastal Louisiana’s Land Loss with Music

After analyzing the lyrics of various pop music artists for mentions of body parts, this song was constructed by sampling the most frequently sung body parts by each artist. The goal is to sonify and visualize how the body has been represented in popular music.

https://datadrivendj.com/tracks/body

Data-Driven DJ (http://datadrivendj.com) by Brian Foo (http://brianfoo.com) is a series of music experiments that combine data, algorithms, and borrowed sounds.

Body Language - How Pop Musicians Sing About The Body

This song was created using data on gender, race, and ethnicity of actors and actresses featured in the last decade of blockbuster movies. The goal of this song and visualization is to give an intuitive and visceral understanding of how different groups of people are represented (or underrepresented) in mainstream Hollywood movies.

Learn more about the process and data: https://datadrivendj.com/tracks/hollywood
An interactive view of the data: https://datadrivendj.com/interactives/hollywood 

Data-Driven DJ (https://datadrivendj.com) by Brian Foo (http://brianfoo.com) is a series of music experiments that combine data, algorithms, and borrowed sounds.

Color Balance - A Soundtrack For Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in Movies

During my 2020 residency at the Library of Congress, I developed Citizen DJ (https://citizen-dj.labs.loc.gov/) to invite the public to make hip hop music using free-to-use sounds in the Library’s vast collections. During this time I also created my own album using Citizen DJ which remixes a Library collection called Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies (https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/about-this-collection/) which contains early sound recordings on Edison Diamond Discs published between 1912 and 1929.

This track samples "Medley of Southern airs" by Fred J Bacon published in 1920. https://www.loc.gov/item/00694032/

The full album: https://soundcloud.com/functionfoo/sets/some-tracks-from-the-stacks

Some Tracks from the Stacks - 08 Southern Vibe Mixtape

During my 2020 residency at the Library of Congress, I developed Citizen DJ (https://citizen-dj.labs.loc.gov/) to invite the public to make hip hop music using free-to-use sounds in the Library’s vast collections. During this time I also created my own album using Citizen DJ which remixes a Library collection called Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies (https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/about-this-collection/) which contains early sound recordings on Edison Diamond Discs published between 1912 and 1929.

This track samples "I'm forever blowing bubbles" by Jaan Kenbrovin, John William Kellette , Helen Clark (performer), and George Wilton Ballard (performer) published in 1919. https://www.loc.gov/item/00694054/

The full album: https://soundcloud.com/functionfoo/sets/some-tracks-from-the-stacks

Some Tracks from the Stacks - 07 Bubbles 4 Life

During my 2020 residency at the Library of Congress, I developed Citizen DJ (https://citizen-dj.labs.loc.gov/) to invite the public to make hip hop music using free-to-use sounds in the Library’s vast collections. During this time I also created my own album using Citizen DJ which remixes a Library collection called Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies (https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/about-this-collection/) which contains early sound recordings on Edison Diamond Discs published between 1912 and 1929.

This track samples "Onward, Christian soldiers!" by Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) published in 1919. https://www.loc.gov/item/00694103/

The full album: https://soundcloud.com/functionfoo/sets/some-tracks-from-the-stacks

Some Tracks from the Stacks - 06 Hold Up

During my 2020 residency at the Library of Congress, I developed Citizen DJ (https://citizen-dj.labs.loc.gov/) to invite the public to make hip hop music using free-to-use sounds in the Library’s vast collections. During this time I also created my own album using Citizen DJ which remixes a Library collection called Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies (https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/about-this-collection/) which contains early sound recordings on Edison Diamond Discs published between 1912 and 1929.

This track samples "Indiana" by James Frederick Hanley (1892-1942), Ballard MacDonald, and Homestead Trio (performer) published in 1917. https://www.loc.gov/item/00694057/

The full album: https://soundcloud.com/functionfoo/sets/some-tracks-from-the-stacks

Some Tracks from the Stacks - 05 Midwestern Groove

During my 2020 residency at the Library of Congress, I developed Citizen DJ (https://citizen-dj.labs.loc.gov/) to invite the public to make hip hop music using free-to-use sounds in the Library’s vast collections. During this time I also created my own album using Citizen DJ which remixes a Library collection called Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies (https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/about-this-collection/) which contains early sound recordings on Edison Diamond Discs published between 1912 and 1929.

This track samples "Old pal (Why don't you answer me?)" by M. K. Jerome (1893-), Herbert Soman (performer), and Daniel Lieberield (performer) published in 1921. https://www.loc.gov/item/00694035/

The full album: https://soundcloud.com/functionfoo/sets/some-tracks-from-the-stacks

Some Tracks from the Stacks - 04 Old Pal... WHY DON'T YOU ANSWER ME?

During my 2020 residency at the Library of Congress, I developed Citizen DJ (https://citizen-dj.labs.loc.gov/) to invite the public to make hip hop music using free-to-use sounds in the Library’s vast collections. During this time I also created my own album using Citizen DJ which remixes a Library collection called Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies (https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/about-this-collection/) which contains early sound recordings on Edison Diamond Discs published between 1912 and 1929.

This track  samples "Allah's holiday" by Rudolf Friml (1879-1972), Eugene Jaudas (performer), and Jaudas' Society Orchestra (performer) published in 1917. https://www.loc.gov/item/00694027/

The full album: https://soundcloud.com/functionfoo/sets/some-tracks-from-the-stacks

Some Tracks from the Stacks - 03 Secular Holiday

During my 2020 residency at the Library of Congress, I developed Citizen DJ (https://citizen-dj.labs.loc.gov/) to invite the public to make hip hop music using free-to-use sounds in the Library’s vast collections. During this time I also created my own album using Citizen DJ which remixes a Library collection called Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies (https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/about-this-collection/) which contains early sound recordings on Edison Diamond Discs published between 1912 and 1929.

This track samples "Omar Rabbi Elozor" by Meyer Kanewsky (performer) published in 1919. https://www.loc.gov/item/00694089/

The full album: https://soundcloud.com/functionfoo/sets/some-tracks-from-the-stacks

Some Tracks from the Stacks - 02 Scholars Increase the Levels of Peace

During my 2020 residency at the Library of Congress, I developed Citizen DJ (https://citizen-dj.labs.loc.gov/) to invite the public to make hip hop music using free-to-use sounds in the Library’s vast collections. During this time I also created my own album using Citizen DJ which remixes a Library collection called Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies (https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/about-this-collection/) which contains early sound recordings on Edison Diamond Discs published between 1912 and 1929.

This track samples "Introduction and tarentelle" by Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908), Mischa Violin (performer), and Josef Adler (performer) published in 1921. https://www.loc.gov/item/00694094/

The full album: https://soundcloud.com/functionfoo/sets/some-tracks-from-the-stacks

Brian Foo

Popular tracks