Context
Bumps Per Minute
“A sound experience akin to drinking several very strong cups of coffee in fast succession” (Lila Tristam). Bumps Per Minute is an interactive artwork by Anna Meredith, a Somerset House Studios resident and Mercury Award-nominated composer and musician. It sees the traditional fairground dodgems ride reinvented into an interactive sensory experience. Each bump, and jolt of the cars is tracked by bespoke wireless technology and the random manoeuvres of the dodgems generate a unique audio-visual composition. Using the collisions of the individual bumper cars, every performance of the composition is different!
Listen & Watch For
- The repetitive beat building up to the start of the ride.
- Changes in the music when a collision happens (e.g 00:48 and 01:01) – can you find any more examples?
- Increase in tempo from 01:04 and decrease at 01:16.
- At 02:04 a repetitive bass motif begins but is short-lived as a new beat enters just as quickly.
- Characteristic fairground melodies (e.g at 02:28) – where can you find further examples?
- Think about how the sense of excitement is created for the whole experience.
Try it yourself!
The Bumps Per Minute website has an interactive game where you can create your own dodgems composition – simply visit the page and start making collisions!
Things To Consider
- Listen to Stravinsky’s Petrushka on our Inspiration page and compare how the ‘montage’ technique is used in both pieces. How might you bring this technique into your own composing to give the impression of a camera focusing on different scenes?
- How can you use changes in tempo, melodic ideas and rhythm to create momentum and excitement?