Browser Chance Music
- imperceptible internet activity revealed -

Browser Chance Music (BCM) creates a space for a radically different relationship between user and software. Activating this audiovisual system with your own smartphone gives a sonic and visual presence to the evanescent and imperceptible internet activity that emanates from an object which is often quite personal, but largely unknown. Defamiliarizing the smartphone and revealing the aesthetics of its operation opens the doors to a new relationship with our constant companion.

At Visualia 2020

BCM was exhibited at the AV event Visualia organised by Nordic Audiovisual Artists (NAVA) in Reaktorhallen, Stockholm 11-12 September 2020 as an intimate installation version for one device at a time.

How it works

Interfacing with BCM is as easy as connecting to a specifically configured WiFi network. The device is now connected to the Internet through this WiFi and devices on the Internet use packets to exchange information. While on the network, every packet of internet activity will be registered by the network and passed on to a custom built sonification and visualisation system. Attributes such as who owns the server being communicated with, where the server is located, how much data is being exchanged and how active the connection is are fused into immersive sonic and visual experiences.

the network traffic of any connected device is heard and seen through speakers and projection

most of the servers we communicate with are located in only a few different countries

using different apps and webpages reveal different symmetries of internet communication

Acknowledgements

BCM is a collaboration between CASTOR/KTH (Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm) and KMH (Royal College of Music, Stockholm) involving the re|thread collective together with Henrik Frisk, professor of music at KMH, and funded by NAVET.