Orchestrating Space by Icosahedral Loudspeaker

OSIL aims at something new. Something new that neither psychoacoustics has understood yet nor has it been discovered in computer music, so far. In contrast to common surrounding loudspeaker systems, the novelty lies in controlling the strengths of the wall reflections that could be excited from a single performers location. Namely an icosahedral loudspeaker (ICO) is employed as an instrument at this location. In doing so we can newly define and orchestrate space as a composition element in electroacoustic music. OSIL aims at increasing the practical and theoretical understanding of electroacoustic sound phenomena that are defined by their sculptural-choreographic nature, i.e., exhibiting localization, motion, and extent. In particular, the proposal focuses on the ICO constructed at IEM in order to project auditory objects into space, a feature that has already been successfully employed in various compositions that have been performed in concerts in different spaces and environments. The ICO is a compact playback device that uses acoustic algorithms to project sound beams into freely adjustable directions, also wall reflection leading to the listener. In the existing compositions, listeners perceive auditory objects that move away from the ICO and which can have various shapes. However, currently we can neither describe the required ingredients precisely, nor do we have good descriptions of the outcomes and their psychoacoustic background, yet. The proposed art research will be based on three core principles: (1) In a sequence of consecutive electroacoustic compositions, the sculptural-choreographic properties of sound phenomena will be examined in an empirical study. (2) Parallel to the compositional process, an explorative verbal description using a selected panel of listeners will detail the phenomena produced as to be generalizable and to enable quantitative psychoacoustic questions. Exploratory and psychoacoustic descriptions provide well- defined comprehension of the auditory objects created, enriching the art research and promoting a clear discourse with other disciplines. (3) Explanations and models are to be found that match the quantitative psychoacoustic results. Models and improvements will both enrich the software tools needed for composing and the understanding of auditory objects. The progressively informed compositional process yields a new, broader and a generalizable approach of the artistic work with sound sculptures. In doing so, the ICO will be turned into an internationally unique, mobile tool for advanced-style electroacoustic composition and sound projection into the performance situation. The interdisciplinary experiments and results are going to appear in a series of publications. The nomenclature system for sculptural-choreographic auditory objects will interconnect the disciplinary linguistic cultures of composition and psychoacoustics/audio engineering, and will be made available on a website. The compositions will be demonstrated in a moderated concert and in a concluding international workshop.

The project "orchestrating the space by an icosahedral loudspeaker" (OSIL) dealt with artistic research into the icosahedral loudspeaker (IKO) as a revolutionary instrument of electroacoustic music. This IKO measures half a meter, it is constructed from 20 equilateral triangular sufraces in each of which sits a loudpseaker that is individually fed. The IKO sits on a stand 1.7m above the floor and its loudspeaker arrangement permits the synthesis of sound beams that project focused sound into the room with a beam width of 60, and each of the beam directions can be steered freely and dynamically at all times. The audio-technical part of the OSIL project dealt with the improvement of the technique regarding its artistic usability and the market maturity. Is the technique reproducible and can it be applied to smaller geometries? How can the loudspeaker be simulated using headphones when preparing for how it sounds in a concert hall? The initial artistic works and compositions Gerriet K. Sharma made before the project started gave an preview that the IKO would allow to create unprecedented auditory sculptures which can traverse the surrounding room and create sculptures therein. Under which circumstances can we hear apparently holographic sound sculptures that seem to hover in mid-air, when playing back with the IKO? This was the main question driving the psychoacoustical research in the OSIL project. Is the auditory distance related to the balance between the direct sound and the one arriving at our ears through wall relfections? Does the sound played have a decisive role to enable this? What is the effect of continuously moving beam directions and is there a benefit in using reflective baffles? Questions driving the OSIL project originate in its pronounced artistic part. Several composed pieces and the effects therein delivered the fruitful scientific questions (why?/how?) whose auditory perception was researched into, but also in return, artistic techniques fruitfully originated from scientific conclusions. As the main result of art-based research could show that fundamental body-space relations of sculpting theory (kernel plastics, space plastics, kernel-shell principle) and its attributes (directionality, contour, plasticity) can also be found and productively utilized in auditory sculptures of the IKO. Effectively this resulted in establishing a school on its own (nuemerous intensive master classes, Edgar Varèse guest professorship, pieces of students) in which other composers could explore and learn to use the IKO as a new instrument. With 40 publications, a bit more than 20 compositions, several international performances and workshops, open days, and strong involvement of many students, and the cooperation with a manufacturer of the IKO as commercial product, the OSIL project was successful to an extent both overwhelming and surprising!