Kinetic Sound Mobile

Moe Miyake, Yuta Uozumi, Ryoho Kobayashi, and Shinya Fujii

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

Kinetic Sound Mobile is a site-responsive sonic installation that reinterprets Japanese wind chimes “furin” by integrating them with the spatial and kinetic properties of hanging mobiles. This work emerged from critical reflection on the presence and function of sound in contemporary Japanese architecture, highlighting how the environmental conditions essential for traditional furin are gradually disappearing. As urban housing becomes more standardized and compact, priorities such as efficiency, functionality, and security have led windows to be kept increasingly closed. This separates the indoor space from the vitality and sensory rhythms of the outside world, and silences a cultural instrument that once connected people to the seasons. Kinetic Sound Mobile seeks to restore this lost function by adapting the furin to the subtle kinetic energy residing in the modern interior: the artificial airflows of climate control systems and human movement. Functioning as a musical interface for sealed interior spaces, the work translates indoor airflows into visible motion and sound. Unlike conventional wind chimes that rely on the unpredictable fluctuations of outdoor wind, this work utilizes the rotational properties of a mobile structure to manifest environmental responsiveness and indeterminacy indoors. Kinetic Sound Mobile consists of multiple wind chime elements suspended as part of a mobile structure. As the mobile rotates and shifts, the chimes occasionally approach one another. When collisions occur, the chimes strike each other, producing layered harmonies. This structure introduces two key experiential qualities: anticipation arising from near-contact, and emergent sonic complexity generated through accidental collisions. Sound is thus perceived not only at the moment it is produced, but also through the visual and kinetic cues that foreshadow the acoustic event, inducing a heightened sense of sonic expectation. Rather than presenting sound as a fixed composition, Kinetic Sound Mobile functions as an ever-changing musical environment that invites attentive listening. Acting as an interface between indoor airflow and sound, the work offers a dynamic sensory presence that encourages reflection on the invisible motion that exists within enclosed spaces, and proposes a uniquely interior, chance-based auditory experience.

Citation

Moe Miyake, Yuta Uozumi, Ryoho Kobayashi, and Shinya Fujii. 2026. Kinetic Sound Mobile. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20782114 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_music_30,
 abstract = {Kinetic Sound Mobile is a site-responsive sonic installation that reinterprets Japanese wind chimes “furin” by integrating them with the spatial and kinetic properties of hanging mobiles. This work emerged from critical reflection on the presence and function of sound in contemporary Japanese architecture, highlighting how the environmental conditions essential for traditional furin are gradually disappearing. As urban housing becomes more standardized and compact, priorities such as efficiency, functionality, and security have led windows to be kept increasingly closed. This separates the indoor space from the vitality and sensory rhythms of the outside world, and silences a cultural instrument that once connected people to the seasons. Kinetic Sound Mobile seeks to restore this lost function by adapting the furin to the subtle kinetic energy residing in the modern interior: the artificial airflows of climate control systems and human movement. Functioning as a musical interface for sealed interior spaces, the work translates indoor airflows into visible motion and sound. Unlike conventional wind chimes that rely on the unpredictable fluctuations of outdoor wind, this work utilizes the rotational properties of a mobile structure to manifest environmental responsiveness and indeterminacy indoors. Kinetic Sound Mobile consists of multiple wind chime elements suspended as part of a mobile structure. As the mobile rotates and shifts, the chimes occasionally approach one another. When collisions occur, the chimes strike each other, producing layered harmonies. This structure introduces two key experiential qualities: anticipation arising from near-contact, and emergent sonic complexity generated through accidental collisions. Sound is thus perceived not only at the moment it is produced, but also through the visual and kinetic cues that foreshadow the acoustic event, inducing a heightened sense of sonic expectation. Rather than presenting sound as a fixed composition, Kinetic Sound Mobile functions as an ever-changing musical environment that invites attentive listening. Acting as an interface between indoor airflow and sound, the work offers a dynamic sensory presence that encourages reflection on the invisible motion that exists within enclosed spaces, and proposes a uniquely interior, chance-based auditory experience.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {30},
 author = {Moe Miyake and Yuta Uozumi and Ryoho Kobayashi and Shinya Fujii},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20782114},
 editor = {Lia Mice and Nicole Robson and Tara Pattenden},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {Installation},
 numpages = {6},
 pages = {122--127},
 presentation-video = {https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHhVIze4_Lw},
 title = {Kinetic Sound Mobile},
 track = {Music},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_music_30.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}