Two Trains: Sonification of Income Inequality on the NYC Subway

Two trains by American composer Brian Foo is a sonification of a subway ride to 3 of New York’s boroughs (Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx), where the median household income functions as the control data for the composition.

At each of the 48 subway stations on the line, a new datapoint is triggered and The higher the income, the more instruments will play and the louder it gets. As such, the loudest moment is when the metro passes the “Financial District between Park Place and Chambers St. which had a median income of $205,192 in 2011. Compare this to the quietest part of the song (3:53) in the Bronx between E 180 St. and Bronx Park East where the median income was $13,750 in 2011.” Timewise, the subway ride, which would take 1h45 in real-time, has been compressed to a 4.5-minute composition, making each section between stations last approximately 5 seconds.

At each of the 48 subway stations on the line, a new datapoint is triggered and The higher the income, the more instruments will play and the louder it gets. As such, the loudest moment is when the metro passes the “Financial District between Park Place and Chambers St. which had a median income of $205,192 in 2011. Compare this to the quietest part of the song (3:53) in the Bronx between E 180 St. and Bronx Park East where the median income was $13,750 in 2011.” Timewise, the subway ride, which would take 1h45 in real-time, has been compressed to a 4.5-minute composition, making each section between stations last approximately 5 seconds.

The composition has a distinctive minimalist feel to it and Brian refers explicitly to Steve Reich’s New York Counterpoint using chords present in Reich’s work, as well as in the Westminster chimes, probably the most recognisable clock chime melody in the world. In addition to using the same chords, Brian also used phase shifting extensively.

To create this composition, Brian developed his own software, using Chuck ( a musical programming language), Python, and Processing (for the visualisation).

For a complete description of the process, I refer to Brian’s own page, where he explains in-depth how he developed the whole composition. His explanation is so detailed that it would be redundant to write it here again. Two Trains is part of Data-driven DJ a series of sonifications. Each work is explained in-depth and the software is available to download for free. I will probably be covering more of his compositions in separate posts because of the amazing detail in his explanations and the openness of his work.

About Brian Foo

Brian is a New York-based artist and programmer and works with data, music, and algorithms. Besides the Data-Driven DJ project, he also worked for the New York Public Library to make their materials more accessible. You can see his work on his personal website.