Brian_Foo_Concept_ Paper.pdf

Citizen DJ LOC Innovator in Residence Program Concept Paper, LCCIO19D0052

Applicable interest areas: Artistic innovation, Creative computing

Brian Foo hello@brianfoo.com 551-265-9804 Website: brianfoo.com

● No limitations on any intellectual property

● No proprietary software or data restrictions

● I commit to permanently make all source code, data, documentation and media created during this time available under a CC0 1.0 Universal license

Submitted: June 21, 2019 Last updated: June 21, 2019

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mailto:hello@brianfoo.com http://brianfoo.com/

Introduction Citizen DJ is a project to create hip hop music using public domain materials from the Library’s collections. The creative product of this project will be a full length concept album available under a CC0 1.0 Universal license. However, I believe the tools and processes through which I will accomplish this may prove to be far more interesting and impactful: (1) clear and open documentation for how I identified and collected public audio materials, (2) developer-friendly workflows and scripts for analyzing and processing audio collections, and (3) an open-source, consumer-facing web app and interface for easily constructing music using Library source material.

The golden age of hip hop was said to be in the late 80s to early 90s when the emerging genre flew under the radar of copyright law. DJs were empowered to freely cut, transform, and collage disparate source materials into truly unique and original works of art. This small window of time produced landmark albums such as Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet and De La Soul’s 3 Feet High & Rising , both selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry. Due to the rising costs and restrictions of sampling and high profile lawsuits in the following decade, collage-based hip hop as it existed in the golden age is largely a lost artform.

I believe that by making digital library collections easily accessible and usable in a music-making context, a new generation of hip hop producers can thrive, invent new sounds, and connect listeners to materials that might otherwise be hidden from public view. Since hip hop is today’s dominant musical genre, there is great potential for enabling creators and listeners to connect with our cultural heritage via sampled audio material mixed with catchy beats.

Approach and feasibility My approach will be in four phases which can be implemented and used independently of each other. The first phase is working with the Library to identify collections of materials that exist in the public domain or with a permissive license. In addition to music recordings, source materials for music creation can also include any media with audio such as oral histories, field recordings, government film, or ephemeral video.

The next phase consists of a workflow and series of computer scripts that do the following: (1) retrieve audio/video material and metadata from their source, (2) cut up source materials into discrete audio samples, and (3) analyze and extract features such as pitch and volume from each audio sample. The result of this phase would be the equivalent to annotated “audio sample packs” that can be used in most music creation software.

The third phase would be to create a simple app and interface that can be used on the web, desktop, or tablet. The functions of the app include: (1) importing audio sample packs from phase 2, (2) a simple sequencer for creating music loops and sequences of loops, and (3) exporting sequences to audio files.

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In the final phase, I would use the app from the previous phase to produce a full length concept album made up of 8 to 12 tracks. I hope for the tracks to feature different collections that resonate with me during my research from phase one. Each music track will also include documentation containing links to its sampled source materials.

All scripts and the app will be built using open source software. I have the time, resources, and skillset to complete all four phases. I have done some form of each step in the past. The primary part that I will need the Library’s help with is the first phase of identifying and accessing collections of audio or video that can be used for this project.

Experience I have worked as a computer scientist and artist for over 15 years. In the last 7 years I have worked in a library or museum specializing in visualizing large collections of media and data. I worked as part of the New York Public Library Labs for about 5 years. There I designed the Digital Collections website, created the Community Oral History Project , designed the Scribe framework , visualized the Library’s public domain materials , and created Navigating the Green Book using the Library’s Green Book collection.

I am currently a data visualization artist at the American Museum of Natural History.

During my time here I designed a new permanent exhibit on climate change using scientific data and research. I also collaborated with the Museum’s Research Library to visualize our Photographic Collection using machine learning and Library metadata.

My personal projects have complemented, informed, and been informed by my professional work. The Data Driven DJ was a music series built on public datasets and has often been featured on public radio. I designed a porcelain dining set inspired by people, objects, and events in Chinese American history. Most recently I created a film series called Moving Archives (currently in preview) that immerses you in the patterns, rhythms, and textures embedded within thousands of hours of footage from public moving image archives. The workflow and scripts that I used in Moving Archives will provide much of the basis for the media processing and analysis required for Citizen DJ .

Lastly I would like to highlight that I have committed to make all source code from all of my projects available open source and most of my projects are heavily documented for public consumption. I have a deep passion for fulfilling the missions of libraries and museums both as a provider and consumer of public resources.

Schedule and Price Estimates I estimate approximately 300 hours of work over a 6 month period. The first 3 months will be dedicated to the first two phases and the last 3 months for the last two phases.

There will be concrete deliverables by the end of each phase. By the end of the 6 months, I will have delivered documentation, source code, a web app, and a concept album. All scripts and software will be built using free and open source technology. I estimate the cost for this project to total $15,000. The costs include my time, travel expenses, hardware (for storage and transfer of large media files), and web storage.

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https://www.nypl.org/collections/labs https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/ http://oralhistory.nypl.org/ https://scribeproject.github.io/ http://publicdomain.nypl.org/pd-visualization/ http://publicdomain.nypl.org/greenbook-map/ http://brianfoo.com/work/amnh/climate_wall.html https://amnh-sciviz.github.io/image-collection/ https://datadrivendj.com/ http://americanchina.brianfoo.com/ http://movingarchives.brianfoo.com/films/ https://github.com/beefoo/media-tools