Project

MAT Intersections: Soundstack 2019

A free two-day, two-track series of workshops, concerts & masterclasses on the art and technologies of spatial sound. Soundstack took place on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th November 2019

Soundstack focused on the aesthetics of sound as space, in an attempt to address this often under-considered area. Relative to the technologies with which we can create spatial sound, aesthetic strategies and conceptual frameworks seem undeveloped, scarce, and disparate. How can this concern be moved forward, and how? The Soundstack workshops were led by seven artist-engineers working at the cutting edge of spatial sound for VR, AR, installations and performance. Workshops covered specific software and techniques, as well as the aesthetic potential of working with immersive sound in fixed and real-time settings, with hands-on instruction, as well as a demonstration of work, discussions and an evening performance. The IKO loudspeaker array was premiered in the UK, Supercollider was used in Unity for audio-reactive photogrammetry, the Steno language was used to build spatial synthesis engines and filters, and the Media & Arts Tech (MAT) programme’s 24-channel speaker system was used for an evening of performances and workshops.