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Dark energy at the Drax power station

Drax power station

Today’s photograph and sound pairing are from northern England, with this stunning image of the Drax power station by Alan Silvester, with a sonic composition designed around the image by Stephanie Merchak, who writes:”

“The photo of the Drax coal power station, one of the most polluting power stations in the UK, automatically made me think of something harsh and dark. That’s what I tried to render with sound.

I also wanted to use sounds that would remind the listener of electric arcs and sparks. In order to achieve that, I decided to use data bending.

I imported the photo into Audacity as RAW data and exported it multiple times as audio files using various algorithms. I then imported those audio files into Ableton Live and used them as the basis of my track, processing them, cutting them into small pieces and arranging them into a structured track.”