Exploring nonstandard methods of music creation has been well on the rise in the age of big data and artificial intelligence. In one such data-driven music project titled ViroMusic, music producers have iterated upon this approach to even begin synthesizing genetic code into songs.
The process of developing these songs began with software sifted through the contents of COVID-19’s RNA to identify strands of data which could be turned into music. A proprietary algorithm subsequently translates the data sets into musical notes, leading to a melodic progression that could be played by a musician. ViroMusic call this transformative process DNA Sonification.
In total, a series of 10,000 sequences were synthesized into songs, which were then minted as NFTs. Musicians soundtracked the output of these songs with pianos, strings, and ambient synths. A brief survey of the songs demonstrates wandering, intertwined, piano-driven melodies are a frequent theme of the collection, perhaps emblematic of the tangled web of microscopic code found at the cellular level of life itself.
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“The idea for this collection was born from an awe of the beauty in the code of life,” reads the ViroMusic website. “We hope this project helps to raise awareness that even a virus capable of inflicting such misery is fundamentally based on the same code as every living thing on earth. We thought it would be interesting to take this code and make it play music. We hope you find it as haunting, interesting and provocative as we do.”
The ViroMusic NFT collection is currently available for sale via Rarible.
