Double Helix (2019)
is a data-driven electronic composition that utilizes genetic data
as its source material. Built from the very fabric of life, here,
genetic code
becomes music. Genetic data and musical data may both be viewed as a sequence. This creates a common ground where two usually distinct domains may meet. In this work, composer and machine collaborate in the exploration of a seemingly infinite space of musical possibilities. Using Ableton Live and Cycling '74's Max, a graphical music programing environment, a DNA sequence and corresponding amino acid sequence are strategically mapped in real time to changing musical parameters including pitch, intensity, duration, timbre, and spatialization.
In the pre-compositional phase of the work's creation, the genetic data was freely mapped to musical parameters in myriad ways until aesthetically viable mapping strategies were discovered. Algorithms were designed to implement particular musical processes. The algorithms were repeatedly executed until desirable motifs emerged. The composer-programmer then worked to refine the mapping – in order to shape the musical surface, controlling both macro and micro-level details of the data-driven music's structure.
The genetic data used in this composition is from the human gene CHD8 (chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein 8) which has been identified as a leading candidate gene for autism risk. The data was obtained from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
