Nowadays, composers no longer work only for the concert hall or the opera stage. Today, a composer who creates the next symphonic work has become an innovator who can be active in a wide range of fields, from video to film, from sonic branding to sound identity of products and services.
Today, we speak with Mike von der Nahmer, a sound researcher, music therapist, scientific collaborator at the German Aerospace Center and composer.
With over 30 stage works and 100+ compositions, he holds international recognition. He has collaborated with GRAMMY, Kenwood, Sony BMG, Rolls Royce and BMW, and his music has been featured in TV series like NOVA.
As an Artist in Residence at the SETI Institute in California, Mike is engaged in innovative projects that offer fresh perspectives and push the boundaries of music and sound design.
Mike shares with us some sonification projects in various domains, such as weather patterns, language, the brain, and sound design in autonomous vehicles. For example, he gives us insights into his work at the German Aerospace Center (the German NASA), where he works on the sonification of air traffic control.
Today, you will not only hear us talking but also experience different sound worlds. Because Mike brought some sound files to the conversation, we hear different sound layers from an air traffic game and examples of what he calls ‘mood compositions’ for Rolls Royce, BMW and Mini that are central in the sound strategy of these car brands.
We end the conversation with a longer piece of about five minutes of sonification of curves that Mike co-created with two outstanding mathematicians in Luxemburg.
So be prepared to hear about pioneering thoughts connecting sound, science, and human experience.
Listen now to: Sonification with Mike von der Nahmer
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Show Notes
- Connect with Mike via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-michael-mike-von-der-nahmer-0780964/
- Sonification in Air Traffic Control, German Aerospace Center (DLR): https://www.dlr.de/fl/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-1149/1737_read-74107/
- “ReShape”, Sound of Data – Science meets Music, sonification of curves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9l_oTHr-_w
- Mashrabiya ReShaped, painting curves to music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci0uISK2KAA
- Mike von der Nahmer, Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mikevondernahmer5051
- Mentimeter questions on sonification: https://www.menti.com/altpihgk8vfp/0
- Beethoven’s 5th mapped in a Customer Journey software: https://www.smaply.com/blog/cx-professional-interview-christof-zuern
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