Bad Waters is a research project and music release which aggregates data from academia, watchdog groups, the EPA, the U.S. Treasury, and the finance sector to draw connections between top water polluting companies and taxpayer funds.
Review the data and citations:
joshuadumas.art/tiredcircuits/badwaters
Using custom code, Tired Circuits’ Joshua Dumas sonified that data, mapping toxic release, revenue, federal contracts, etc to elements like distortion, pitch, and waveform to build static soundscapes. He then composed piano melodies atop those soundbeds while viewing slideshows of the affected towns and waterways. The result is ten short pieces of witness, accusation, grief, and nostalgia.
Special thanks to Carlos Hernandez, Political Economy Research Institute at UMASS, Corporate Research Project, Andy Wagner, Scott Craggs.