Mobile Sound :: Sonic City

Sonic City is a project that presents the city as a musical instrument. The project imagines the city in terms of a sound and music space, giving the people in those urban spaces the ability to create sound and experience musical compositions. The city becomes an interactive musical interface.


Sonic City enabled people to create music by walking through a city. By using wearable mobile computer technology - the perception of place, time and the activity applied to exploration the urban sapces turns into personal audio creation.

"We explore the use of public space and everyday behaviours for creative purposes, in particular the city as an interface and mobility as an interaction model for electronic music making."

The city becomes an interactive and physical interface. The architecture and urban surrounding provide a built infrastructure to use creatively. The everyday activity of walking or cycling through the urban space can be translated into movement and choreography and captured by the city interface. Through the use of mobile and wireless tools this movement can be translated into narrative and creative feedback.

Sonic City was created by Ramia Mazé, Play Studio, Lars Erik Holmquist, Future Applications Lab and Lalya Gaye, Future Applications Lab, Viktoria Institute.