Background

As a composer I’ve always been concerned with sound in space. I created many sound installations that use complex multi channel speaker systems. But this time I wanted to do something very different. I was intrigued by the idea of having extremely confined acoustic realities that extend the architectural structures of the room. I wanted to think about sound as a material that can be physically shaped, or sculpted in space in such a precise way, that would not be possible within the laws of real world acoustics. 

A couple of years ago I created an augmented reality sound installation using Ipads. Of course in this AR-experience it was possible to create sounds that can only be heard inside of certain virtual sculptures with millimeter precision. But for the beautiful room of the Arsenale I wanted to get rid of any screens. My goal was to translate the endless possibilities for sound localization and manipulation of the virtual realm into a real space, which the audience can experience freely without the need to use a tablet or smartphone.

Therefore I decided to use position-tracking technology together with wireless headphones and to program a 3D room model based environment in MaxMSP to have maximum control over binaural sound manipulation in space.

For the visual aspects I decided to use lasers to project translucent borders or “rooms” of lights that extend the architecture of the space and visually separate the different sonic realities. In some ways the installation inverts our everyday experience that walls separate us visually but not fully acoustically from our neighbors. In this piece however we can watch the rest of the audience through translucent walls, but we can only imagine what they might listen to. The acoustic realities are completely separated, only through exploring the space the audience learns that they share similar acoustic environments.

The main sound material for the composition were sounds that I recorded on a very peculiar little organ in the middle of Thuringia, Germany. The sensation of the directional listening of the individual pipes while improvising in front of the organ inspired me to do an abstract mapping of these sounds to the virtual map of the room. 

In addition to the precomposed sound, real noises were also part of the piece. For Example while you approached the window, you would listen to the soundscape of the harbor in front of it. Elsewhere through the use of hidden directional microphones there was the possibility of two people talking across the whole room without anybody else noticing it. 

People interacted with a lot of care and really listened to the piece. After entering the installation, they usually approached the first wall with great caution. When they entered, they were surprised and slowly started to discover the experience and its many hidden gems. I could often notice that after about five minutes of cautious exploration they would move more freely. One strength of the work was that, except for the communicative moments, everybody was immersed in their own sonic realities and didn’t disturb the experience of others. Some people had the most fun time, while others were really silent and observant. Even though I was limiting the audience to 8 people at a time, during the 10 days of opening 2665 visitors came and experienced the work.

I am very grateful that I had the chance to develop this work for Biennale Musica 2022 and many thanks to all the wonderful people helping me along the way.