2: Related Work

When discussing the sonic approach that Lynch has taken throughout his work and how it has informed our proposed method, it is important to observe and discuss how his work has already worked its way into the lexicon of many artists, designers, and filmmakers from a variety of mediums and styles. Through these examples, we present a trajectory of our work and how it relates to this lineage.

2.1 Sound as the Invisible Cue

Sound is something that is experienced typically through predominately non-visual means. While we may see a musician performing their instrument or witness a car passing by loudly, the sound these actions produce is something that exists in the air, an invisible entity. As Don Ihde states, "An inquiry into the auditory is also an inquiry into the invisible" [18]. This non-visual element of experience design is integral to most multimedia experiences, whether they be installations, visual works, or certainly musical works. This is also true for UX design, such as the audio feedback in interfaces like cell phones or ATM machines. When you first interact with most ATM machines in Japan, you are given a specific tone when accessing the first several steps such as entering your pin, choosing which account to withdraw from, and entering the amount of yen you wish to withdraw. When you choose the denomination, you then hear the dominant tone in relation to the initial tones. Finally, when you press enter to confirm the amount, you are again given the initial tone, which is then confirmed as the tonic of these notes. This follows common voice leading in musical terms.

Another example would be found in the transit system musical cues. Beginning in 1989, Japan integrated a complex and sprawling system of unique train jingles that were created for specific areas and settings, whether it be rural areas of densely populated city centers such as Tokyo or Osaka. The vast majority of these jingles were composed by Minoru Mukaiya, who sought to create sonic profiles directly related to the setting and experience of these specific locations [33]. In addition, digital birdsongs have been implemented in both train stations and at intersections as an organic and non-invasive means of assisting visually-impaired and non-impaired individuals alike [35]. These methods of using sound and music to create a more pleasant user experience in public settings are but a small example of how aural cues can be used in assistive and enhancing elements. But what if the sonic character of these settings were to not create a more pleasant experience, but instead were utilized for unpleasant or unsettling means?

2.2 Uncomfortable Sounds in Art and Media

The use of background noise and abstracted/aberrational audio has been seen in many works over the past several years. The following examples are discussed as they directly relate to specific sonic methods which are frequently utilized by David Lynch and can easily be traced to this aesthetic lineage. One example of this is the animated series Salad Fingers by English animator/sound artist David Firth. From the first episode titled "Spoons", Firth presented many classic Lynch aspects throughout his work. Originally uploaded to Newgrounds on July 1, 2004, this episode begins with an ominous lofi sound of what appears to be a train whistle, and then hard cuts to persistent background noise. The dialogue in these works is often fragmentary and at times surreal, and the voice of what appears to be a child is replaced with the sound of an animal crying out. The resulting experience is justifiably unsettling while also presenting a sense of dark humor and lightheartedness. Firth’s influence from Lynch is not simply implied but seen in full through their collaboration for Flying Lotus’ video "Fire is Coming", which was directed by Firth and features Lynch reciting a typically abstracted tale.

Electronic artists Burial and The Caretaker have extensively utilized noise and perceived "flaws" or intentionally abstracted sounds in their work. In his latest full-length album titled Antidawn, Burial eschews much of the beat-oriented elements of his previous works and leans much more heavily into vaguely familiar sound elements to create an atmospheric experience that recalls happenings that you cannot quite piece together. The sounds of lighters flickering, fragmented speech, gusts of wind, and persistent vinyl crackles all come together to produce a sonic palette which evokes memories of something vague yet poignant. With The Caretaker, much of his work is rooted in memory and recalling events which never really happened. This is evident in his sprawling release Everywhere at the End of Time. In this work, he explores the process of dementia and the degradation of sound through gradually deteriorating loops which eventually give way to a total loss of perceived content. This process of deterioration stems from an interest in how memories are recalled and is deeply rooted in hauntological methods [10]. Indeed, much of what ties these artists to the Lynchian process can be seen as some form of hauntology, or a expression which seeks a future based on a past that never really existed [9]. This search for or journey towards a future based on something which never really existed allows for the resulting expressive output to exist in some kind of liminal space, in which truth and lies are not apparent, and in which what is "right" or "wrong" are neither relevant nor sought after.

Another prime example of the Lynch approach to affective sound can be seen in the 1990s-early 2000s works of Japanese filmmakers Takashi Shimizu (Ju-On/The Grudge) and Hideo Nakata (Ringu/The Ring). In both of these film franchises, the use of persistent background sound, harshly recorded audio, and fragmented sound design are utilized to achieve the unsettling feeling throughout. For example, in Ju-On: The Grudge, these ominous aural layers are prominently featured in the first scene in which social worker Rika Oshina (played by Megumi Okina) enters the supernatural house which is featured throughout. Low swells of sound, ambient static textures crinkle in and out, and the sound of a gently swinging ceiling light are amplified to an unrealistic extent. These sonic applications give this scene a haunting and uncertain feeling, which is used throughout much of this series. In Nakata’s Ringu, a prime example is that of the "cursed video tape" which is central to the film series. This short tape sequence provides an amplified sense of dread through not only the surreal imagery and persistent background noise, but also through the medium itself. Being recorded on a VHS tape, there is additional audio artifacts that are consistent with the tape medium, which adds both authenticity and unease in its presentation.

2.3 HCI for Discomfort

The idea of designing artifacts, tools, and experiences which are purposefully unpleasant has witnessed a steady stream of interest in HCI [1, 3, 14, 22, 28, 34]. The intention behind these approaches can be to stimulate behavior change [22, 28], provoke reflections about the potential creepiness of technologies, provide a framework for engaging with dark topics and difficult conversations [1], challenge ethical preconceptions [14], or "simply" entertain a particular audience [3]. In most of these works, discomfort, annoyance or unpleasantness are achieved as a result of embodied actions that participants are asked to perform, like lying down in a coffin wearing a VR headset to participate in a game [3] or smiling to a camera to be able to open their fridge [28], or as a result of "inappropriate" social interaction which could range from having to stroke a performer’s body to access the soundscape of an artistic piece [1], or being faced with situations where they had to navigate a racist working environment [14]. As a result, unpleasantness, discomfort, and annoyance are somehow more explicit and can be affected more clearly by the individual’s actions, or lack thereof. Uncontrollable sensory elements, like spiders and rats present in the VR coffin by Brown et al.[3] is also often added to these uncomfortable experiences, but once again their purpose of scaring the player is somehow explicit. On the other hand, when Woźniak et al.[34] synthesized the three dimensions upon which HCI experts built the conceptual model of creepiness, they cite the concept of "Unpredictability". In the examined literature, unpredictability seems to be primarily linked to the perception of a lack of control over an artifact which causes users to mistrust it, we argue that it can also be leveraged to explain the unpleasantness that can be generated through the purposeful manipulation of sound. Such an approach can offer more subtlety than an openly uncomfortable interaction for example by randomly introducing and removing sounds purposefully decoupled from visual stimuli, adding and deleting noise, or progressively deteriorating a track [21]. This is made possible by the more ephemeral nature of sound which can easily be illusory and portrayed as a background rather than a foreground element, making it an ideal subtle yet powerful accompaniment for a variety of different interactions. While many artists have taken great inspiration from Lynch in his otherworldly approach to sound, it has yet to see its full potential within the HCI community.