The Carrington Event

We've just released a new Loud Numbers data sonification project.

It's an immersive audiovisual experience, representing data collected in 1859 during the Carrington Event - the strongest solar geomagnetic storm in recorded history. Telegraph stations caught fire and auroras were sighted as far south as the Caribbean. In 2012, a Carrington-sized storm missed the Earth by just a week. If it had hit, damage to humankind’s large-scale electronic infrastructure would have run to trillions of dollars, with a recovery time of four to ten years.

The track is based on magnetic records of the storm, which were later digitised by researchers Karen Aplin and Giles Harrison. The 18-minute duration covers just over a week of data, from 28 August to 6 September, 1859. The more intense the music, the more intense the disturbance to Earth’s magnetic field.

Here it is, listen as loud as you dare...

This was a highly collaborative project - I worked on the concept with Benjamin Cooley (who created his own track from the same data), and then composed and performed it live at a series of events here in Malmö earlier this year. I recorded it, and Miriam Quick produced and mixed that recording. It was mastered by the wonderful folks at Sorting Room Studios.

The video elements were created in partnership with the fantastically talented Simon David Rydén. (@supermarketsallad on YouTube). He created several patches in Touchdesigner, which I then played with a MIDI controller in time with the music. He then produced the final video.

Both our track and Ben's track are out now on the French netlabel Camembert Électrique. You can buy them on Bandcamp, or listen on your favourite streaming service.

For more information about how the Carrington Event tracks were created, read the extensive liner notes over on the Loud Numbers website.