Frances Allen

Musical Underground was created by compiling data sourced from TFL's Underground maps. Sea level, travel zones, station and platform depth, as well as interchanges and walking distances between individual stations, were all used to assign pitches and note lengths. The result is a musical interpretation of London’s intricate Underground system.

(For the full album please see my website or Soundcloud as linked in bio)

This sound art piece reimagines the configurations of a Rubik’s Cube through an audio-visual treatment of its mechanism. By distorting and resolving itself through the movements of its faces, the reimagined puzzle provides harmonic discord and resolution in turn. To create the work, each colour of the cube are assigned a pitch and each face an octave range. The frequencies of colours on a face through each sequence are then charted to create a rotating soundscape.

Throughout her final year, Frances has been developing a system that enables musical learning through physically interacting with sound and colour. Taking inspiration from methods involving aural pedagogy, this project promotes the instilling of musical knowledge through exploration, experimentation and play.  

(This project is currently undergoing a patent application process so cannot be fully displayed)