Cubosh questions our relation towards digital data. What would be if digital data would age and loses quality over time? What would be if our data gets irreversible small damages when accessed played and lose quality after some years? Would this step backwards in technology be a step forward in appreciation and cognition of digital data?

What is Cubosh?

Cubosh [Cube/kibosh(destroy)]is a critical design object that asks these questions in relation to digital music data. So reach empathy to digital music data we thought it has to be bound to a medium again like the old vinyls, in contrast to popular streaming services nowadays. As a medium we used actually sent postcards that are supposed to contain the data besides the written text. So it would be possible that you get a mail from your best friend from his vacation containing his favourite summer song. When this music postcard then is put into Cubosh, a destructive reader unit detects and plays the song. While playing small scratches appear on the surface. Over the time this couses a decrease of song quality, but you and any one else can actually see and feel that you have used this postcard a lot. We think this makes this peace of music very special and somehow unique, even though it is not perfect in sound anymore.

How does the prototype work?

Our reader unit with a neadle and a red LED is not realing reading some data. To get the song attached to the postcard we use a color code on the back of each postcard that is then detected by a camera inside cubosh. As controller we use the Arduino boardin combination with Processing running on a hidden computer.

How do people react on Cubosh?

During an exhibition at the university we found out that the problem we are adressing is also in mind of a lot of music lovers. When we introduced them to Cubosh people started thinking about the progress of music mediums and their music consumption.