Designing public interactions through sound with Michael Baker

In this podcast you will learn how sound-led public artworks can turn everyday places into shared, playable environments. 

In this interview Michael Baker is the Sound Director at Daily tous les jours we explore some of the thinking behind Daily Tous Les Jours’ public artworks. 

Daily tous les jours is known for large-scale participatory works such as Musical Swings, as well as their book Strangers Need Strange Moments Together, which reflects on designing interaction in public space.

This interview is the first in a series that focuses on media art works in public space.

Listen to this podcast to learn about:

• Why music acts as “social glue” in public space and how it supports relationality
• How the Musical Swings series of works map movement and synchrony into musical structure
• Designing interactions that are legible without instructions
• Low-tech prototyping methods (before code) that test the real experience
• The differences between touring works and permanent outdoor installations
• Common failure points in public work: weather, wear, and mechanical/electronic overlap
• Why the “artwork” is ultimately the people using the piece, together

 

Chapters

• (00:00:00) Finding the hidden rhythm: sound between chaos & musical order
• (00:00:24) Welcome + acknowledgement of country
• (00:00:48) Series kickoff: Media art in public spaces (meet Daily tous les jours)
• (00:01:40) Michael Baker’s role: Why audio is the perfect public-space interface
• (00:02:44) “Make sure it makes music”: Music as social glue & pre‑verbal play
• (00:05:24) Accidental encounters: The magic of unexpected public art
• (00:06:22) Case study: Musical swings—wonder, all ages, all walks of life
• (00:07:38) Sync & sway: How the swings create emergent harmony (tech + behavior)
• (00:09:56) From mirror neurons to intimacy: Why we copy each other
• (00:10:41) Interactive pavement: Grid rhythms, emergent rules & dancing together
• (00:11:48) No instructions needed: Designing clear, simple gestures
• (00:13:45) Prototyping at scale: Iteration, tape-on-the-ground tests & deadlines
• (00:16:13) Tweak vs deliver: Working with clients, museums & touring constraints
• (00:17:51) Testing with fresh eyes: First-time users as the real benchmark
• (00:19:25) Temporary vs permanent: Durability, public “hacks,” and extreme weather
• (00:21:41) Platforms & toolchains: MAX/MSP, TouchDesigner, and choosing what fits
• (00:23:50) What public media art really is: The artwork is the people
• (00:25:29) Wrap-up, thanks, and share the show

About Daily tous les jours

Daily tous les jours is a Montreal-based art and design studio that creates interactive installations in public spaces. Founded in 2010 by Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat, the studio is known for large-scale participatory works such as Musical Swings. Their projects use technology, music and movement to bring strangers together and transform everyday urban spaces into sites of collective experience.

About Michael Baker

Michael Baker is the Sound Director at Daily tous les jours, where he oversees the sonic landscape of the studio’s interactive installations. In his role, he develops sound palettes, generative compositional systems and integrated audio environments that respond to movement and collective behaviour in public space.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in electroacoustics from Concordia University. An accomplished electroacoustic composer, his work has been presented at international festivals including the 60x60 Festival (Canada/US), the Livewire Festival (Maryland), and the Canadian Electroacoustic Community Symposium (Montreal).

Takeaways from this interview with Michael Baker

Music as social glue

“Music is this glue for a lot of things…”

Baker describes music as a fast way to lower social barriers in public space. When people share a sonic environment, they enter a common rhythm without needing conversation. In busy sites where attention is fragmented, music creates an immediate shared context for connection.

Sound keeps the public space social

“Your eyes remain free…”

Unlike screen-based interaction, sound does not demand a fixed gaze. It allows participants to remain visually aware of others around them. This keeps the interaction social rather than isolating, preserving eye contact, shared glances and collective awareness.

Design so it needs no instructions

“We should design the objects and the interaction together… we don’t have to write the rules down.”

For the studio, instructionless design is not an aesthetic choice but a functional one. Clear physical affordances and immediate sonic feedback allow people to learn through play. In public space, where no one expects to encounter art, clarity must come from the interaction itself.

Synchrony creates relationship

“If you swing for a little while, you're not quite strangers anymore.”

The Musical Swings reward coordination. Shared rhythm becomes a subtle social bridge. Participants don’t need to speak; the harmony makes their connection audible. Synchronisation shifts the space from parallel activity to collective experience.

Emergent music from minimal systems

“As soon as you get more people… it becomes this sort of emergent, repetitive melody.”

Each individual action remains simple and legible. Complexity arises only when multiple people participate. The design principle is clear: keep the personal gesture intuitive, and allow group behaviour to generate richness.

Prototype with the simplest possible tools

“Masking tape on the ground and a MIDI keyboard…”

Early testing does not require finished technology. By stripping away code and polish, the studio focuses on the core question: does this feel intuitive and rewarding? If the interaction fails at this level, technology will not fix it.

Build for weather, wear and unpredictability

“If there’s something that has to move… and there’s a cable attached… there’s wear and tear.”

Public installations operate under constant stress. Moving parts, cables and electronics meet rain, snow and repeated use. The challenge is not just designing the interaction, but designing for durability, failure and long-term maintenance. 

The artwork is really the people.

For Baker, the physical installation is a platform, not the finished work. The artwork emerges through participation. Success is measured not by the object itself, but by the quality of shared experience it generates.

Links from this podcast 

• Learn more about Daily Tous Les Jours
• Learn more about 21 Balançoires (musical swings)
• Read Strangers Need Strange Moments Together