What is spatial sound?
Spatial sound or immersive audio generally refers forms of listening, playback and performance that go beyond traditional stereo. There are many approaches to presenting sound in ways that highlight different spatial relationships, including object-based mixing, wave field synthesis, ambisonics and more. A variety of companies create their own approaches too, including the d&b Soundscape, Dolby Atmos, Apple Spatial Audio, L Acoustics L-ISA, Meyer Constellation, Grapes (ZIMMT), and SpaceMapGo. Rather than focus on technology, we are particiular interested in spatial and social ways of listening, thinking, and interacting.
Exploring the Social Possibilities of Spatial Sound
We are particularly interested in the social possibilities of new kinds of listening spaces and experiences. So much of contemporary media is unidirectional — the screen, the podium, the book — whereas spatial audio gives us a chance to hear multiple voices at once. Diverse perspectives can be meaningful in tension with one another. Spatial sound can help us appreciate that sensibility. Moreover, we can hear things behind us, hear people we cannot see. In a world where algorithmic feeds often dominate media flows, spatial audio reminds us to close our eyes and listen, with both intention and a spirt of open-minded exploration.
We also hope that spatial audio can encourage a new balance of attention, emphasizing both artworks and complicated acts of listening. We embrace that idea each person will hear and experience things differently. This reminds us that reality itself is collaboratively constructed, shaped by diverse experiences and partial ways of knowing, in all the things we do. We hope that by experimenting with new techniques of listening, playback and performance, we can encourage new ways of relating to each other and the world around us.
Spatial sound or immersive audio generally refers forms of listening, playback and performance that go beyond traditional stereo. There are many approaches to presenting sound in ways that highlight different spatial relationships, including object-based mixing, wave field synthesis, ambisonics and more. A variety of companies create their own approaches too, including the d&b Soundscape, Dolby Atmos, Apple Spatial Audio, L Acoustics L-ISA, Meyer Constellation, Grapes (ZIMMT), and SpaceMapGo. Rather than focus on technology, we are particiular interested in spatial and social ways of listening, thinking, and interacting.
Exploring the Social Possibilities of Spatial Sound
We are particularly interested in the social possibilities of new kinds of listening spaces and experiences. So much of contemporary media is unidirectional — the screen, the podium, the book — whereas spatial audio gives us a chance to hear multiple voices at once. Diverse perspectives can be meaningful in tension with one another. Spatial sound can help us appreciate that sensibility. Moreover, we can hear things behind us, hear people we cannot see. In a world where algorithmic feeds often dominate media flows, spatial audio reminds us to close our eyes and listen, with both intention and a spirt of open-minded exploration.
We also hope that spatial audio can encourage a new balance of attention, emphasizing both artworks and complicated acts of listening. We embrace that idea each person will hear and experience things differently. This reminds us that reality itself is collaboratively constructed, shaped by diverse experiences and partial ways of knowing, in all the things we do. We hope that by experimenting with new techniques of listening, playback and performance, we can encourage new ways of relating to each other and the world around us.
im·mer·sive/iˌmərsiv/ adjective
: providing, involving, or characterized by deep absorption or immersion in something (such as an activity or a real or artificial environment)
: providing, involving, or characterized by deep absorption or immersion in something (such as an activity or a real or artificial environment)
As a researcher at MIT Spatial Sound Lab, I work with Professor Ian Condry, who established the lab founded on the principle that 'innovation thrives when creative minds have space to share, interact, and develop ideas together.' The Lab is a community studio for making immersive sound productions and for researching the social possibilities of immersive audio, especially for public performance. The Lab started in November 2019, thanks to a collaboration with d&b Audiotechnik.
We are housed in the MIT Stratton Student Center at 84 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139 in room W20-429. We have a 14.2 speaker system that runs the d&b Soundscape, an object-based mixing platform. We organize workshops, listening sessions, sound events as well as ongoing research, experimentation and production.
We are housed in the MIT Stratton Student Center at 84 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139 in room W20-429. We have a 14.2 speaker system that runs the d&b Soundscape, an object-based mixing platform. We organize workshops, listening sessions, sound events as well as ongoing research, experimentation and production.
Spatial Sound Installations/Events
weave creative x MIT SSL at the Kyoto Jinpu-an
An artful experience of mixing tradition and modern cultures. Kyoto kaiseki cuisine, tea ceremony, traditional architecture, and a beautiful Japanese garden, getting a "remix" by digital art and original compositions of spatial sound.
An artful experience of mixing tradition and modern cultures. Kyoto kaiseki cuisine, tea ceremony, traditional architecture, and a beautiful Japanese garden, getting a "remix" by digital art and original compositions of spatial sound.
Research Themes
Black Hole Reverb
Prof. Erin Kara (MIT, Physics) and Prof. Kyle Keane (Accessible Tech, U of Bristol, UK) are collaborators in an ongoing project to sonify supermassive black holes. Sonification is a process of presenting data via sound. This offers some advantages in portraying multiple data changes simultaneously as well as making the data more accessible to visually impaired folks.
Prof. Kara and her team study how x-rays reflect of the enormous accretion disks surrounding black holes composed of millions or billions of solar masses. These reflected x-rays are affected by the spin, size and orientation of the disk, the gravitational lensing of the black hole, and time-space relativity affects caused by the fast rotation near the event horizon. Prof. Kyle Keane (U of Bristol,UK) has developed a method for transforming this complicated data model into sound, which has been used for teaching as well as art projects. Read and hear here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/07/science/space/astronomy-black-hole-sound.html
Live Music, Immersive Art, and Social Applications
Dissolve Music @ MIT is our spatial sound showcase, which has been held every other year since 2018.
For example, read about the performance of Mouse on Mars at Dissolve Music @ MIT 2018
We also hold listening sessions in our lab (15–25 people), often focused on a historical or contemporary music album originally designed for multichannel playback.
Prof. Erin Kara (MIT, Physics) and Prof. Kyle Keane (Accessible Tech, U of Bristol, UK) are collaborators in an ongoing project to sonify supermassive black holes. Sonification is a process of presenting data via sound. This offers some advantages in portraying multiple data changes simultaneously as well as making the data more accessible to visually impaired folks.
Prof. Kara and her team study how x-rays reflect of the enormous accretion disks surrounding black holes composed of millions or billions of solar masses. These reflected x-rays are affected by the spin, size and orientation of the disk, the gravitational lensing of the black hole, and time-space relativity affects caused by the fast rotation near the event horizon. Prof. Kyle Keane (U of Bristol,UK) has developed a method for transforming this complicated data model into sound, which has been used for teaching as well as art projects. Read and hear here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/07/science/space/astronomy-black-hole-sound.html
Live Music, Immersive Art, and Social Applications
Dissolve Music @ MIT is our spatial sound showcase, which has been held every other year since 2018.
For example, read about the performance of Mouse on Mars at Dissolve Music @ MIT 2018
We also hold listening sessions in our lab (15–25 people), often focused on a historical or contemporary music album originally designed for multichannel playback.
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indoor lab 1
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OUTDOOR OPEN HOUSE LISTENING SESSION @MIT
mobile/outdoor config
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Ian Condry on "Spatial sound and community building"
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d&b Soundscape on-site configuring 16 speakers set up
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“Spatial sound” is an open category that emphasizes multiperspective, multidirectional, spatially sensitive listening.
Accessible Technology & Disability Justice
One of our research themes involves accessible technology. This initiative is led by Nelly Kate Anderson and Kyle Keane. In June 2024, we held a workshop with Fayen d’Evie and Lloyd Mst from the ALL Access Lab and Library in Melbourne, Australia and musician Andy Slater from Chicago to share their projects and experiences.
One of our research themes involves accessible technology. This initiative is led by Nelly Kate Anderson and Kyle Keane. In June 2024, we held a workshop with Fayen d’Evie and Lloyd Mst from the ALL Access Lab and Library in Melbourne, Australia and musician Andy Slater from Chicago to share their projects and experiences.
Spatial Justice
Spatial justice is a new concept aimed at bringing together different threads of research in the Lab. Social justice is often about issues of space — sovereignty, power, access, openness and much more. Denise Frazier’s work on racism and poisonous chemicals in Houston, Texas, offers one example or our interests in this area. Her band Les Cenelles, which performs live in multichannel sound, also brings spatial justice ideas to life.
This is just a partial listing. We are continuing to develop new research themes.
Spatial justice is a new concept aimed at bringing together different threads of research in the Lab. Social justice is often about issues of space — sovereignty, power, access, openness and much more. Denise Frazier’s work on racism and poisonous chemicals in Houston, Texas, offers one example or our interests in this area. Her band Les Cenelles, which performs live in multichannel sound, also brings spatial justice ideas to life.
This is just a partial listing. We are continuing to develop new research themes.
SPACE INVADER
Space Invader is a project of SRCFLP, featuring 4.1 sound club experience merging spatial sound, social practice, and audiovisual .
Building on the momentum of our previous quadraphonic event at the Somerville Museum block party, we installed a version 3 of Dynamic Performer System (DPS). This version is a crucial step to refine its interface design for practical use in live improvisation.
Building on the momentum of our previous quadraphonic event at the Somerville Museum block party, we installed a version 3 of Dynamic Performer System (DPS). This version is a crucial step to refine its interface design for practical use in live improvisation.
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Setting up DPS-3 and visual projection system
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Performing on the quadraphonic sound system, combined with live drumming
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