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Route Info

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The way I prefer to approach this is to put all artists onto the map and then start to organise where they should go in order for the links to be made. This may just stay as a rough guide map only in order to complete some of the routes as posters to use as my final submission for the project.

It's complicated to sort out but hopefully it will make it a lot easier afterwards.

Producers

Each route will need a shape. Rather than generate them randomly I've looked at influential Hip Hop producers. The about.com website suggests a list of the top 50 (link to about.com here) and I tried to get a mix between the most importantand those who have worked with a wide variety of artists.

I then looked at the backgrounds of each one - where they were born, grew up, moved to, where they recorded etc and put the results into google maps using the directions utility. All of the maps below were generated by google maps (link to google maps website here).

Jay Dilla

Dr Dre DJ Premier

Alchemist

Latest

Top image is an improved version using a more accurate map of the U.S.

I will need to find a way to adapt this map as a lot of the artists are associated with New York and it has made that area of the map busy and innaccurate. 

Network Rail

The Network Rail Route Planner map simplifies UK map well. Each network route is shown in the context of the others see image below.

networkrail.co.uk Route 1: Kent.pdf 

I intend to use the same method to simplify the area that will be represented on my music map.

Direction

From what I've been looking at recently (mostly not on the blog) the main options seem to be a map/maps to show one or a combination of:

Evolution/Progression of genres

Artists and their producers/links between them

Genre links and pioneers

Genre chronology

Linking music and places

Deciding which of these to carry on with will give a better idea of what the next stage will be, even if I find ways that several of these things could be included.

Producer 'Routes'

Texas to Brooklyn (Link)

The shape of each route/line will be dictated by the movements of the producer. The above example is for DJ Premier. Houston, Texas to Brooklyn, New York. 

I'll simplify each line to be at o, 45 and 90 degree angles.

Subway Font

Johnson Underground font

Map Symbols

Reproductions of symbols from Network Rail maps that could be relevant to the project.

(Drawn using Flash).

Gullah Music

Website that explains Gullah Music, a way that African slaves used to communicate with each other in America by way of a coded language, whilst seemingly singing gospel tunes.

http://knowitall.org/gullahmusic/index.html

Muic Notation

Braille music notation (RNIB website)

http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/visugate/public_histedbl.hcsp

Compatability

These maps fit together smoothly; the official Toronto subway map (http://www.toronto.ca/ttc/pdf/subway_rt.pdf) and the two streetcar guides created by Matthew Blackett of Spacing (http://spacing.ca/wire/?p=2691)

This has perfect relevance to the project as a way to juxtapose the links between mainstream and underground.
The skill seems to be in applying the same visual language to different sets of information, as would have been neccessary with the independent services of the first London Tube map.

Circuitry

http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=1409

http://www.mattkicks.com/blog/images/keycircuit.gif

Electrical Schematics

Beck's Tube design has been likened to electrical schematic diagrams e.g http://www.shively.com/dit-de-icer-schematic.gif... Parallel lines, symbols and colour coding help to simplify.

Both travel maps and the schematics share some of the same symbols e.g wiring symbols http://hampgh.com/ClassMaterials.aspx

Links

World Subway Maps

http://people.reed.edu/~reyn/transport.html

http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/local/transit

Music Notation

http://www.dolmetsch.com/musicalsymbols.htm

Massimo Vignelli NY Subway Map

http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/10/system19721ac.jpg

It's difficult to believe that Vignelli's 1972 NY subway map was completely rejected. Maybe it would have been a success if it had been trialled in the same way as Harry Beck's intially controversial London Tube design .

'The Platform' album by Dilated Peoples, released in May 2000. Example of an underground group that have also 'surfaced' at times with tracks like 'This Way' with Kanye West (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbo9QlcLcX8).