The question which begins this discussion of the Æolian Interface Project remains unanswered: Does the natural world have an aesthetic that is digitally translatable? If we assume that the interface itself gives rise to the particular characteristics of the sonic data (timbre, structure, etc.) then we seem to have backed ourselves into a corner. What is the purpose of sonifying the natural world if it becomes only one more source of data whose origins (like so many things in our digital, post-xerographic world) are obscured or unrecognizable?

We do not believe that our interface obliterates the essence of the natural aesthetic. Rather, the AIP allows whatever intrinsic patterns exist in the flux of wind to manifest themselves. This notion, that there is an emergent behavior in complex systems, forms the basis of our theoretical project. This idea comes most directly from the Hub and their idea that computer networks can give rise to a recognizable (though scarcely definable) aesthetic. Weather, the most complex system of all in some respects, has been shown to exhibit order where none was thought to have existed (the much-quoted example of the hurricane-inducing butterfly comes to mind). Our hope is that the AIP will allow a particular aesthetic to emerge from nature.

Let us be unambiguous here: this aesthetic has nothing to do with the character of the sounds (a function of the tone module and effects unit), nor with the structure of their organization (a function of the physics of our installation and the receptivity of our sensors). We believe that after extended periods of listening to the tones of the AIP one will be able to recognize a behavior or aesthetic that is particular to the AIP. It is not unlike the experience of hearing a song for the first time from a band that you know well. The actual sound of the instruments rarely has anything to do with the fact that you can say, "yes, that sounds like ..." The similitude being apprehended has more to do with overall sonic aesthetic than with any easily defined, quantitative aspect of the music itself.

The idea of an emergent behavior is of course a theory begging empirical verification. As soon as we have enough time to listen to the tones we will make our judgements. Regardless of the findings, however, it has been the idea that complex networks (like weather) have intrinsic aesthetic qualities that may be made manifest that has impelled our work.