Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
The Sounds Of The City, Documented In Real Time
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published May 17, 2011
Modified May 17, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published May 17, 2011
Modified May 17, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A while back, we worried that silence was going extinct in this crazy, noise-filled world. But after listening to the way that a temporary, interactive new street-level installation called SoundAffects transforms the sounds of the streets into repetitive, strangely calming melodies, we might be okay with a bit of noise, after all.
The project is an effort between Parsons The New School for Design, mono and Tellart to translate real-time city noise (think weather, traffic, birds, passerbys, etc.) into sounds and visualizations—perhaps "borrowing" the idea from Alexander Chen. You can listen to the music, which is actually quite pleasant, in person by plugging into the wall on-site at 5th Avenue and 13th Street, or you can visit their website to hear streaming music and watch the corresponding screen. It's magic! Well, not really. A sensor input picks up signals (everything from temperature to color to nearby cell phones) all around the wall, filters all of that through a fancy algorithm that assigns each input a color and a sound, and then pops out tune and video.
The organizers are conducting experiments throughout the week to see how disruptions in weather, temperature, and human interaction on the block will affect the music. For example, today's rain shower gave the the tune a jazzy little beat. The installation is running through the 22nd, and you can follow their Twitter page for more updates. We knew those studies about Manhattan being dangerously noisy were nonsense.
Tagged
art
installation
interactive art
noise
sound
street art
the new school
Jamie Feldmar
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.
Independent booksellers are grappling with whether the big-box chain is a threat or an ally in the fight against Amazon.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 12:55 p.m. ET
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
By
Hannah Frishberg
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .