Written by Huge thank you to The Point for hosting a preview of my immersive sound exhibition The Choreography of Sound. The exhibition gave me an opportunity to test some of the recordings I have made while researching the project, and get some audience feedback on what has been successful so far.
Hear what it sounds like to stand in the middle of a string quartet, or close your eyes and hear 20 invisible dancers brushing the floor or rushing past you. Featuring new music composed by one of the UK’s top composers for dance, and recorded to give you a new way of experiencing music, the choreography of sound immerses you in strings, piano, guitar in a way you’ve never heard them before.
The Choreography of Sound is an immersive audio installation where music and sound move all around you. The aural sensation of dancers moving through space is interwoven with musical elements which dance from speaker to speaker.
Following an 8 year career writing and designing sound for contemporary dance, the Choreography of Sound is my first attempt at taking away the dancers and exploring just the movement of sound. After all, sound is a wave; and exists only within movement. So what happens when I start to shape how that sound moves in a space? For more information on the project, check out my previous post on researching the Choreography of Sound.
Here’s an excerpt of the piece mixed for headphones (binaural).
Surround Sound Equipment
My current audio set up for the Choreography of Sound uses 8 speakers; 6 monitors and two subwoofers. The speakers are positioned in a combination of ear height and floor level which enables sound to move not only forwards backwards left and right, but also up and down- like a dancer.
Researched and created with the award winning Gildas String Quartet, immersive dance company Lîla Dance and Hampshire Youth Dance Company.