Each crop in FiveCrops draws from live environmental data to modulate its audiovisual output. The city is not a static backdrop — it speaks through wind, water, seismic activity, temperature, and local news. All sources listed below are free, open, and require no authentication unless noted.
Real-time and forecast meteorological data for any coordinate on Earth. Provides wind speed, wind direction, wind gusts, and temperature at 2m height with 15-minute update intervals.
Used in: All crops. Wind speed → WCL (Wind Controlled LFO) modulation depth. Wind direction combined with heading → modulation angle. Gusts → transient events.
api.open-meteo.com/v1/forecastAggregated news headlines from thousands of sources worldwide. Filterable by keyword, language, and country. Free tier offers 100 requests/day. Used to pull hyper-local headlines relevant to each crop's neighborhood.
Used in: Lincoln Heights, West Hollywood. News headlines appear as PDI-style text overlays when the dot passes through active zones. Headline density influences visual rhythm.
gnews.io/api/v4/searchReal-time earthquake catalog from the United States Geological Survey. Returns all seismic events within a defined radius and time window, including magnitude, depth, and coordinates. Los Angeles averages several detectable events per day.
Used in: Venice (planned). Recent seismic activity within 100km → low-frequency tremor layer. Magnitude maps to amplitude. Depth maps to sub-bass frequency.
earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/queryQuery engine for OpenStreetMap data. Allows retrieval of any geographic feature — canals, rivers, coastlines, parks — as GeoJSON within a bounding box. Venice canal geometries are stored as waterway=canal in OSM.
Used in: Venice. Distance from GPS point to nearest canal line → pitch boost on ACO. Distance to ocean shoreline → HCF cutoff frequency (brighter near water).
overpass-api.de/api/interpreterOfficial U.S. tidal observations from NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services. Station #9410840 (Santa Monica) is 3km from Venice and updates every 6 minutes with real water level relative to MLLW datum.
Used in: Venice. Current tide height displayed in HUD. Tide level modulates the ocean shoreline distance offset — high tide brings the ocean closer, altering HCF response dynamically.
api.tidesandcurrents.noaa.govSame API call as wind data — temperature at 2m height is returned in the same request at no additional cost. Provides current conditions and hourly forecast. No separate endpoint needed.
Planned use: Temperature range across crops could shift the overall tonal register — warmer days push frequency up, cooler days bring it down. Also a candidate for visual palette shifts: heat as color temperature.
api.open-meteo.com/v1/forecast