joaoflux / digital / analog / culture

When I travel with trains in the Netherlands (which I do fairly often), I usually try to avoid the double-decker trains, because of their poor interior design. The seats make my butt hurt and using a laptop is a pain in the ass: You can’t have it on the roundish table, because it’s to small and you can’t have it on your lap, because the table is in the way.

Being forced to do nothing but hang on my own thoughts during a 90 minute ride, I noticed a melody. It was simple, elegant and slightly melancholic. I tried to identify the source but couldn’t. I couldn’t even tell what direction it came from, the source seemed to change it’s position permanently. The melody seemed to consist of only two tones that alternated with no clear pattern, but not really randomly, a bit like a minimalist free jazz improvisation. It was quite beautiful and the low volume of the tune enhanced the experience additionally.

Because I do not have absolute pitch, I wanted to record it with my phone, so I could reproduce it or at least memorize it. I knew that the chance of actually hearing it on the recording was miniscule, but I tried nevertheless. A young guy who was sitting across the corridor asked me what I was doing. I told him that I tried to record the Sound and to my relief he confirmed that he could also hear it. His theory was that it came from the energy feedback brakes. He also mentioned that one of his professors in industrial design at the university of Eindhoven was the designer of the train’s interior.

Since my musical skill are too poor reproduce the two tones from my memory, I decided to bring better recording equipment next time I’m in the netherlands. My plan is to write a primitive script that would reproduce the tune for me.