WORK

Unveiled at "CXL BASH!", a networking event hosted by Sony Music Solutions' creative team Creative X-lab (CXL), this live installation dissolves the boundaries between people, the environment, and technology.

The project focuses on Nori (seaweed), cultivated through a delicate balance of nature, human craftsmanship, and technology, framing it as a symbol of harmony. As AI blurs the boundaries of creative production, the work looks beyond "human-centered design" toward "pluralistic design," offering a new form of expression shaped by the dynamic interaction between humans, nature, and AI. 

Throughout the venue, sensors captured environmental data such as crowd density, converting it into real-time music and visuals. At the center of the space the unique surface texture of a record made of nori was scanned and translated into raw audio and visual elements.

BASSDRUM handled the technical direction for this project. Working in close collaboration with the CXL team, we led the system architecture and implementation powering the installation, while providing end-to-end guidance from initial prototyping to final production and testing.

To extract audio and visual data from the project's key element, a record made of nori, we developed a custom scanning system pairing a turntable with a camera. This system ran a program that extracted color data from the spinning surface in real time. By precisely controlling rotation speed and illumination, we implemented a continuous four-hour scanning mechanism that moved from the outer rim toward the center like a traditional stylus. The extracted color data directly triggered signals for the artist's drum machine and served as dynamic parameters for the live visual performance.

Additionally, we constructed an integrated infrastructure to capture environmental data across the space, including crowd-tracking cameras and CO2 sensors detecting the audience's breathing. We established a unified real-time data flow that simultaneously fed into two separate visual systems and the live sound setup. Throughout the development process, we worked alongside CXL as an equal partner rather than a vendor, getting hands-on at every stage from concept validation and prototype testing to task distribution.

This flexible prototyping and interactive implementation drew heavily on experimental insights cultivated through SPEKTRA, an autonomous creative collective in which our tech directors participate individually. Beyond simply supplying technology, this project exemplified a truly co-creative technical direction, merging expertise across domains and iterating together to bring the vision to life.