Chicago Avenue Moon 2.0

Chicago Avenue Moon is a responsive, generative music app that utilizes various parameters such as date, time, moon phase, and GPS location to craft its music in real-time. Designed for a user on the move, the composition is influenced by the listener's route and speed.

Composer Joshua Dumas curated a collection of 1000 short musical phrases that are transformed, sequenced, and interwoven by the app to generate an infinite array of musical renditions, ensuring a distinctive experience with each playback.

The concept behind the piece is to create a personalized soundtrack for the commonplace activities of strangers; an endeavor to infuse enchantment into everyday tasks like commutes, visits to the laundromat, or evening strolls. Incorporating field recordings from his walks in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood of Chicago, Dumas seeks to connect his local environment with that of the global audience.

Despite grappling with vast permutations and investigating how minimal elements can spawn intricate compositions, the project's origin is unassuming. During sweltering summer days, while conceptualizing and composing, Dumas found solace in observing the moon ascend over Chicago Avenue from his studio piano. Seeking respite from the heat, he ventured through his neighborhood, envisioning this very music, his contemplation stirred by the urban soundscape.

The development of the app was a collaborative effort with Mike Piontek of Junecloud and recorded by Matt DeWine at Pieholden Suite Sound in Chicago. It received partial funding through an Individual Artists Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events and Illinois Arts Council.

Performed by Josh Bell, Johnny Caluya, Kate Drown, Whitney Johnson, and Joshua Dumas himself—who is also involved in projects such as Verma, Quarter Mile Thunder, Mar Caribe, Soundings, and Quiet Errors—Chicago Avenue Moon is a universal app accessible on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad devices. While a GPS-enabled device is recommended for optimal experience, it is not mandatory; any iPhone or iPad with Cellular capabilities suffice.