BENGALURU: When one thinks of a musical instrument serenading harmonious notes, one would not even in their wildest imagination think of an 18-deck tall cruise ship. But making this unimaginable feat possible is musician Akshai Sarin who has successfully managed to evoke waves of sound from the Royal Carribean Cruise’s Spectrum of the Seas.
“The original plan was to convert a five-star hotel into an instrument for their 10th anniversary. But then my parents told me about how they had gone on a cruise and they were telling me the size and the scale of the cruise ship. So I thought that’s an interesting idea.
Why not do something even bigger than a hotel? I approached the CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruise in Singapore with the idea and it obviously took some time to get them to understand what I wanted to do because it’s kind of a strange concept but then they liked the idea and said they would be happy to do this,” says Sarin.
The ship, which is open to passengers with its musical prowess, took nearly two years to complete. “There are a lot of variables because it’s something that’s never been done before. So the sea conditions, the vibration of the ship’s engine, all of that had to be decked out,” says Sarin, who is also the creator of Blessdbuy, a social enterprise in the city.
The backbone of this project is an array of vibration sensors, each tailored for different surfaces. “The vibration sensors can be attached to any object and then the next step is connecting it to a series of hardware and then using software to train the sensors to pick up different positi, gestures, and locations. So the vibrations are translated into data and the data is then translated into sound,” explains Sarin.
At the heart of all of Sarin’s work is the concept of Sonokinesis which is a project intersecting art, music, and technology and revolves around transforming everyday objects into dynamic, playable musical instruments. The musician’s fascination with technology and music dates back to his teenage years. “As a teenager, I used to open up all my walkmans and resolder the wires.
I started making my own music instruments as a kid. Ten years ago, I was inspired by the movie Minority Report and worked with this Portuguese company to create a transparent touch screen with which I could play instruments,” shares Sarin, adding, “People today are so easily distracted because there are so many different things. So, I envision using that to make things come alive in a different way.