The process of making music isn't a million miles away from that of cooking — you have to get the blend of ingredients just right. With that in mind, Korean artist Viktor Jan's Beatoven project makes a lot of sense. It's an Arduino-powered MIDI interface that plays back tunes from electrified objects placed into a cooking pot. Each object will play a different track, and you can alter the sound by using mixer-style knobs as if you were adjusting the temperature on a stove. Jan spoke to Fast Company about the project:
"When I was in U.K., I missed my Korean food, so I decided to cook a Korean soup in my kitchen. While boiling the water, I realized that the water boiling sound is playable by the lid of pot. It is just like filtering a sound effect by using a DJ mixer. So I translated that idea into cooking sound."
The cooking pot only recognizes certain objects right now, but Jan says he plans to make Beatoven work with real food in the future. The idea may even go as far as to teach kids about nutrition by matching harmony to healthiness.