First of all an.schlag is a LED-Cube with 512 LEDs. Instead of using it just as a display for e.g. showing an audio spectrum we did it the opposite way around. an.schlag generates music! You can also manipulate the sound by hitting the surface. In the following we explain how we did it.

an.schlag is a cube made of LEDs, which simulate a room in which a light ball moves like a tennis ball. The course of this ball changes a computer-generated sound. Moreover, the course of the ball can be manipulated by touching the cubes surface - in fact the touch changes the course and the music.

1. Every axis of the cube can be linked with a parameter/control in music software on the computer.
2. Depending on the point in the coordinate system on which the ball is, it has a specific x-,y- and z-value. This value is sent to the computer and changes the parameter to which it is linked, for example x = volume, y = tone and z = filter functions.
3. Changing parameters means changing the sound.

• hearing

• visual

• haptic

Regarding the technical innovations of the last decades it seems natural that modern art uses innovative technical constructions, like an.schlag does. The symbiosis of music, tech and the artistically ideal of the cube does not only link three arts, it also awakes the human wish to discover and to create. Made possible by changing values and parameters in the software and in the cube itself an.schlag becomes a new piece of art every day.