You’re surrounded!

I’ve signed a contract that says every communication about this project should include this logo. So stand now please, and salute. Thank you!

I’m one of four artists that have received state government funding and access to ambisonic monitoring provided by ARUP, who I also acknowledge. It’s normally used for pre-sonification of architectural spaces.

My first need: I’m trying to compose ambisonic music. (Stereo recording hasn’t ruined music from the days of purist mono – in fact it has brought about experiences you enjoy right now. Why stop here?)

Surround sound delivery is not well defined. Even a ‘standard’ like Dolby ATMOS has broken into versions – Apple being Apple, have embraced, expanded and extinguished the format. I need to future proof my work. The best master format is higher order ambisonics, being 16 channels (big but not super-big) that downscales to ATMOS, Apple-ATMOS, 7.1, 5.1, binaural etc. I need to conform masters to HOA in a place where I can clearly hear what I’m doing. That’s a non-privileged spherical speaker array. Privileged means that there’s a viewing direction like a cinema, and that’s only one way you could compose music.

Second need: Working on the Luna computer game and wanting that to be a realistic ambisonic experience. This is the exact purpose of the ARUP studio – to predict the sound of a built environment. This means connecting Unity to the speaker array and wandering about simple versions of the architecture.

That’s a pile of star fish in a tank with a skull. Seen at SeaWorld it’s part of a mood board for the event.

Third top-secret need: We’ve held one Séance online (which was supposed to be in the Australian Museum). There’s the possibility of holding one in the real world. As there’s multiple organisations involved and a lot of design and negotiation needed I can only say that it would have some kindred spirit with Luna, that there could be multiple sources of live sound, that unlike the first Séance a lot of new music would be involved.

Having held one séance and a performance as Severed Sound System, this big jump would be the launch of Severed Séance System – pretty much the first time I’ve ever been comfortable with that damn band name! Much more later!

7 Comments

  1. Penny Courtney

    Very excited to hear about these new developments, and of course will do what I can to promote any projects and events as more is known. Looking forward to future plans! Cheers, Penny.

  2. Man I’m just trying to get my head around the whole Red Martian Remix by Severed Heads, and the relationship to SDF, how all of that intertwines between you, Seattle Washington, and a long history of musical innovation dating back to 1979 when i graduated highschool in Southern California.

    • Tom Ellard

      Pretty simple. SDF (Stephen) made contact back in the Fidonet days and moved us onto the early internet. We were part of SDF for ages, but recently I felt the need to refresh everything, for better or worse. Here’s Nilamox. But recently I’m slinking back on SDF using mastodon LOL. So it was a pleasure to remix Red Martian and as for Seattle that’s where Medical Records have re-issued a few of the early LPs.

  3. congrats!! that is fantastic, its amazing to see you still around, still going and still creating in the midst of it all :))

    • Tom Ellard

      Well I’m a bit young to be dead yet!

      • gridsleep

        Oh. Rumours of your death have been greatly exaggerated too, huh? Figures.

  4. gridsleep

    Whatever happened to quadraphonic? I remember a neat-o amp that came with a microphone, which was to be placed at the listener’s location, so the amp could adjust its four+ speakers to focus the volume (in spacial terms, not amplitudinal [this word had to be added to the dictionary]) of the sound so the listener would literally be at the center of the virtual audio space. I also remember messing around with Brian Eno’s ambient speaker construct. In the words of Ray High, “What happened to the truth? What happened to the dream? What happened to all that lovely hippie shit?”

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