Workshop | Shelly Knotts et al.: Sonification and the Space In-Between: Bridging Scientific Inquiry and Musical Practice
Sonification has a long history within computer and electronic music, with composers—such as Clarence Barlow, Alvin Lucier and Laurie Spiegel—using data as a compositional tool. At the same time, sonification is an established tool in scientific inquiry, where it has been used for purposes ranging from the sonification of astronomical phenomena for public outreach, to the analysis and communication of long-term environmental data. This workshop explores the rich interdisciplinary space that lies between computer music composition and scientific inquiry, focusing on sonification as a shared methodology, bridging between disciplines, rather than a discipline-specific technique. Participants will be introduced to interdisciplinary working practices that support the identification of shared concerns and the development of common understanding when designing sonifications, as well as software tools and computational workflows that enable collaborative work. The workshop will be led by researchers working together as part of the interdisciplinary project Sonic Intangibles, and within their own domains of Sound Art, Live Coding, Mathematics and Computational Physics. By emphasising interoperability and participation, this workshop aims to explore how sonification can generate increased discourse between, and mutual benefit for, musical and scientific communities.
Requirements
The workshop is accessible to a broad audience in computer music, with the only pre-requisite being some familiarity with any programming language. Attendees will be asked to install a local version of Supercollider ahead of the workshop, and will need to bring a laptop and headphones for the final part of the workshop.
About the workshop facilitator
Shelly Knotts produces live-coded and network music performances and projects which explore aspects of code, data and collaboration in improvisation, and has performed and presented her work at numerous events worldwide. Based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK, she performs internationally, collaborating with computers and other humans. She is currently a Post-doctoral Research Fellow on the Sonic Intangibles project at Northumbria University.
In 2021-23 she was an Artist-in-Residence on the Heritage Lottery funded Seascapes project, working with communities in Sunderland. In 2016-2021 she worked on research projects around the use of AI, data and networks in improvisation and composition and related social themes at Durham University (UK), Monash University (AUS), Newcastle University (UK) and McMaster University (CA). She completed a PhD in Live Computer Music at Durham University in 2018.
In 2017 she was a winner of BBC Radiophonic Workshop and PRSF ‘The Oram Awards’ for innovation in sound and music.
She has taught numerous creative coding workshops at conferences, festivals, universities and cultural institutions worldwide, and runs Creative Code Club — an informal and inclusive gathering of people interested in the practices and cultures of creative coding — at The NewBridge Project, an artist-led space in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Daniel Ratliff is an associate lecturer at Northumbria university (2020-present), specialising in interdisciplinary approaches to waves across physics and beyond. He works internationally to connect concepts across mathematics, oceanography, statistical physics and space science to advance our understanding of these topics and bridge the disciplinary gaps that often separate these fields.
He has delivered several public engagement events (including Newcastle’s Pint Of Science in 2023 and 2025 and public lectures at Newcastle’s Lit and Phil), has organised and delivered two 14-week research project for KS3 students at a local school via the ORBYTS initiative and both designed and delivered a number of targeted Researcher skills workshops for the PGR student cohorts at Northumbria University.
Lucy Whalley is an Associate Professor in Physics at Northumbria University whose work spans quantum chemistry, materials modelling and interdisciplinary scientific and creative practices. Her research is centred around the use of computational techniques and high performance computing to investigate the atomic-scale behaviour of materials, particularly in contexts relevant to renewable energy.
Lucy is co-lead of the Sonic Intangibles project which explores how interdisciplinary practice across computer music, ethnography and the physical Sciences can enable sonification as a tool for research and communication. She is also a member of SDF, an experimental electronic musiccollective whose work has been released through Lost Map Records and performed at venues including Iklektic (London) and Summerhall (Edinburgh).
Lucy is a Software Sustainability Institute Fellow and Associate Editor at the Journal of Open Source Software, reflecting her interest and advocacy for open and and sustainable software development. She currently teaches programming, quantum mechanics and computational Physics at university Level.