Portishead guitarist and sonic architect Adrian Utley will present a 360-degree spatial audio composition at SXSW London, in a performance that will be livestreamed to MIT’s Spatial Sound Lab in Boston in what organisers describe as a world first.
The piece, Flow, was created with Grammy Award-winning engineer and producer Hans-Martin Buff and recorded at Real World Studios in Wiltshire. It will be performed at Christ Church, Spitalfields as part of a showcase of spatial audio work from artists connected to Bristol, Bath and the wider West of England.
The livestream will transmit channels from a d&b Soundscape system in London to a matching d&b Soundscape setup at MIT, recreating the spatial audio presentation in real time for a collective listening audience in Boston. The project is designed to explore how immersive music can be shared between venues without reducing the experience to conventional stereo or streamed audio.
Utley said: “I think creating Flow has changed how I feel about making music.”
The showcase is being delivered by MyWorld in partnership with the Immersive Audio Network and curated by Crack Magazine and MyWorld. It forms part of SXSW London’s programme exploring the future of music, media and technology.
Alongside Utley and Buff, the line-up will feature Charlie Hooper-Williams, a pianist and developer who will perform piano music using custom software to trigger dynamic lighting responses. Emika, Immersive Audio Network’s sound artist-in-residence and a Bath Spa University graduate, will present a solo spatial piano piece, while Sega Bodega will deliver an immersive set combining electronic music, visual storytelling and live performance design.
The event is intended to demonstrate how artists are beginning to use spatial audio as a compositional tool rather than a postproduction effect. Dr Ruth Farrar, founder of the Immersive Audio Network from Bath Spa University, said: “The most exciting development right now is artists creating spatial music that is immersive from the outset helping place the listener ‘inside’ the music rather than just retrofitting stereo tracks.”
MyWorld, a £70m creative technology R&D programme focused on the future of creative production, distribution and experience, supported the creation of the Immersive Audio Network to connect musicians, producers, technologists and researchers working in spatial sound.
Mark Leaver, partnerships and investment at MyWorld, said the showcase demonstrates how investment in immersive creative technology in the West of England is generating work with international visibility.
The showcase will take place at Christ Church, Spitalfields on June 2 from 7pm to 10.30pm.
Photo credit: York Tillyer