Context
action 01
The project is based on the idea that emotional perception is not a purely subjective or spontaneous phenomenon, but the result of sensory, cultural, and acoustic structures that often operate invisibly in everyday life. Through the analysis of sound—both musical and linguistic—the work connects objective data, such as audio frequencies, with dimensions that seem intimate and personal, such as color, emotion, and mood. The starting point is music. Songs, albums, and playlists are analyzed at a spectral level: dominant frequencies and harmonic structures are extracted from audio tracks and then visually represented as spectrograms. These sound data are associated with colors according to a precise mapping, inspired by Alexander Scriabin’s synesthetic theory and the reflections on color by Goethe and Rudolf Steiner. In this system, each musical key corresponds not only to a color but also to an emotional state. The result is a visual representation in which sound becomes image and music transforms into chromatic matter. A central element of the project is the involvement of people. Participants are asked to freely associate colors and emotions with musical pieces or voices in different languages. These subjective perceptions are then compared with the results of the spectral analysis and the chosen color mapping. The gap between personal perception and sound structure becomes a critical space: not to determine which interpretation is “correct,” but to show how our emotional experience is influenced by habits, expectations, and cultural constructs. Often, we think we are listening to “happy” music, when in reality it may be quite the opposite, and unconsciously we may be condemning ourselves to sadness. Overall, the project functions as an investigation into how sound, color, and language influence people’s moods and habits, often without their awareness. By transforming technical data into visual and aesthetic forms, the work makes visible what usually remains hidden, inviting a reconsideration of the relationship between perception, emotion, and reality.
| Note | Color (Name) | Emotion |
|---|---|---|
| C | Red | Energy |
| C# | Orange | Cheerfulness |
| D | Yellow | Happiness |
| D# | Light Green (Chartreuse) | Hope |
| E | Green | Calm |
| F | Aqua / Light Mint | Relaxation |
| F# | Cyan / Aqua | Serenity |
| G | Sky Blue / Light Blue | Tranquility |
| G# | Blue | Sadness |
| A | Violet / Light Purple | Mystery |
| A# | Magenta / Fuchsia | Imagination |
| B | Pink / Rose‑Magenta | Passion |
action 02
this action is an immersive installation that explores the gap between body and mind. Today, we constantly receive mixed signals: calm images paired with stressful sounds, relaxing spaces that still create anxiety, environments that tell us to slow down while pushing us to perform. The installation is made of rooms where sound and image do not match. In one space, low frequencies slow the body down while fast images overload the mind. In another, higher frequencies create physical tension while the visuals show peaceful landscapes. This contrast creates confusion and makes it hard to trust a single sense. The work questions how much we can rely on our perception and shows how space, sound, light, and images can influence emotions and behavior. Synesthesia here is not harmony, but distortion. The experience ends with an “impossible meditation”: a moment where it is not possible to fully relax or fully focus. Participants are left with a simple but uncomfortable question: should we trust our body, or the environment around us?
one pager
Translating musical vibrations into embodied and reusable energy
Music and musical instruments are often perceived as already sustainable practices: immaterial, cultural, and shared. However, the spaces and contexts in which music is produced and consumed are highly energy-intensive. This project emerges from a critical reflection on the energy consumption associated with live music and from the question: if musical vibrations generate emotional, bodily, and social energy, can they also generate reusable material energy? In this sense, Sound to Energy is positioned at the intersection of culture, technology, and sustainability, addressing the tension between energy produced and energy consumed. The research developed along two main directions. The first investigates how music influences the perceived energy of the human body: how certain tracks can awaken or depress, stimulate motivation and attention, and how synesthetic relationships between sound, emotion, and the body naturally emerge in everyday practice. The second explores the possibility of transforming musical vibrations into tangible energy, analyzing materials, devices, and principles of vibrational conversion. The approach is situated and experimental: first-person observation, prototyping, and testing become tools for understanding the energy produced by bodies and sound. Within this exploration, the project considers the use of piezoelectric technology as a possible means to translate vibrations generated by music, bodies, and movement into electrical energy. Piezoelectricity is understood not as a definitive solution, but as an experimental device through which to reflect. Through the design of systems capable of intercepting vibrations, the project proposes an interpretation of music as energy infrastructure. The goal is not only to reduce consumption, but to transform musical venues into environments of collective energy production, where more bodies, more movement, and more sound generate energetic potential. This approach makes visible and tangible what would otherwise be dispersed and invites a rethinking of the relationship between cultural practice and energy production. The project contributes to the debate on sustainability, energy design, and musical cultures, offering an alternative perspective based on embodied and collective experience. It is relevant for designers, musicians, event organizers, researchers, and those working at the intersection of technology, culture, and ecology. Sound to Energy proposes a transdisciplinary approach that integrates sound studies, experimental design, and embodied practices, challenging the separation between cultural production and energy production. Future explorations include testing in real contexts such as clubs and festivals, experimenting with different types of music and vibrations, evaluating the actual energy generated, and exploring possibilities for scaling the technology in collective contexts. The question remains open as to which value is greater: the energy effectively produced or the paradigm shift the project proposes in the relationship between music, body, and energy.