Composing Space. The Use of Audio Augmented Environment Technology

In contemporary music, space plays an important role for transporting aesthetical meaning. In the case of sound installations, the spatial structure often even dominates the temporal evolvement. Traditional concerts of new and electroacoustic music are also affected by this priority shift, as is indicated by terms like "spatialization systems" and "space composition".

In order to perform the spatial component of a composition, different projection techniques are used. Multiple groups of loudspeakers and instrument players can be placed in order to surround the audience, or discrete sounding objects may be used, which, especially in sound installations, might even have sculptural qualities. Since 1950, more and more spatialization system are being developed, whose complexity is more and more increasing. Current research focuses on the development of sonic simulation systems, which shall perfectly synthesize real or virtual soundfields even without requiring the listener to be situated in an optimal position ("sweet spot"). Most recent technologies towards this aim include wave field synthesis and binaural rendering systems.

Unlike wave field synthesis, binaural rendering systems try to provide optimal listening conditions by personalizing the output sound signals for every single user. In order to achieve this, virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) technology is used, such as tracking systems, scene descriptions and acoustic room simulation techniques. The presence of VR/AR technology also allows for advanced artistic creation which is well beyond the actual spatial sound projection. Such possibilities include deformed acoustic properties of real or virtual rooms, advanced interaction concepts of multiple listeners with the system and with each other, or the superposition of virtual acoustics with the real visual and acoustic space. In the scope of this dissertation, binaural rendering systems are therefore considered the apparatuses offering the most extensive technical possibilities for artistic creation.

Artistic production using sound spatialization systems often shows a significant discrepancy between the technical promises of the systems and their perceptibility for the recipient. In terms of binaural rendering systems, spatial sonic situations often lack plausibility, static or moving sound sources cannot be localized consistently, or interaction patterns are impossible for the listener to deal with intuitively. Usually, those shortcomings are considered technological problems. Therefore, attempts for improvements are often targeted at further developing the technical apparatuses while neglecting the aesthetical motivation of dealing with these technologies.

As a main starting point, this dissertation project assumes that artistic creation involving technically highly developed projection systems is currently dominated by their technological promises. In a circular manner those technical circumstances are idealized and subliminally reinterpreted as aesthetical goals. The same principle applies to former technologies such as stereophony or surround sound unless artistic production is oriented at auditive perception rather than technical properties. In order to successfully represent the spatial component of a composition, the act of projecting sound has to be understood not simply as a reproduction, but as a malleable transformation. In contrast to that, every newly developed sound spatialization system tends to declare this transformation process unnecessary by virtue of technical perfection. This promise seems to be welcomed by the artistic creators, if not even demanded.

This dissertation project aims at developing avenues of approach for evaluating sound spatialization systems regarding their aesthetical qualities. Major research shall be done on the relationship between technical properties of the binaural rendering system LISTEN and an aesthetically motivated artistic creation process. As a reference, radiophonic example compositions will be considered, since stereophony provides the most developed sound spatialization system both in terms of artistic production as well as perception.