Outside fields
—Spatial Field Set
Three spatial-music systems in one map: a live set laid out as fields on a shared clock, distance-to-parameter modulation, and panned target objects.
- MoveDrag up or down to thrust forward or back, left or right to turn. The farther from where you touched, the stronger. Let go to coast. Keys: W/S thrust, A/D turn.
- EnterDriving onto a field queues it. On the next quantize point it starts, rises as a point cloud, and takes over the master tempo.
- LeaveDriving off queues it to close on the next point. Come back before then and it keeps playing. Leave before it starts and it never starts.
- ObjectsEach glowing point is a sound object, breathing with its own loop. An arc links you to the ones in reach, brighter as you get closer. It pans by direction relative to where you face, and your distance reshapes the sound instead of the volume.
- GroundThe point cloud rises with the master level. Every quantize point sends a ripple out from you.
- AutoLeave it alone for five seconds and it tours the fields by itself. You can still turn to look and listen around. Drag up or down to take over.
- TempoWith no field playing the clock runs at the base tempo, 128 BPM by default. Change it in the menu, or switch off "Fields set the tempo" to keep it everywhere.
- DisplayClock, field list and readouts are in the menu at the bottom right. All of them start hidden.
The Development of Spatial Music System
The Spatial Instrument series grew out of a sustained research question: what happens when space itself becomes a compositional medium, not a container for sound but a structure that shapes how sound is heard, moved through, and understood?
Beginning in 2019, this research led to the development of custom spatial DAW systems that treat three-dimensional space the way a traditional sequencer treats time. Virtual spatial structures define how sound behaves in a room. Physical instruments give performers and audiences the means to reshape those structures in real time. The boundary between composition and architecture dissolves: a room is a score, a listener’s movement is a performance, and the act of hearing becomes an act of spatial decision-making.
This framework also opened a line of inquiry into non-visual perception and accessibility. If spatial sound can carry narrative, orientation, and choice without relying on vision, it becomes a medium through which people who navigate the world differently can participate as authors, not just recipients. Several projects in this series explored that possibility directly.
The technical and conceptual tools developed through this research continue to inform my current practice, where spatial audio serves not as the primary subject but as one layer in a larger audiovisual system.
Spatial Live Set
Inspired by structure of Live Set Performance, as an allegory to urban space structure. The system enables performance through gestures.
Space is divided into different regions, which is similar to a spatialization of a “Live Set” structure, functions as spatially distributed audio groups. Each group has its own attributes(loop, speed, quantization clocks, volume, audio effects and reverb sizes). While the represented user location switching from one region to another, different audio groups are triggered on clock, like a musical system. Meanwhile, the height of user/hand defines the parameter of audio effect, which is defined as frequency value of a low-pass filter in the set of GAP+.
Spatial Modulation
Distance-related Audio Effect Modulation
Continuing the idea of Spatial Live Set, this system enables explores accessibility and interactive music with Distance-related Audio Effect Modulation in AR/XR. It informs user audio cues, and reshape audio narrative with instructed movements of user.
The distance relationship is reflected as audio cues of audio effect modulation, by modulating parameters such as frequency of filter, grain size of granular synths or pitch of sound. As a progressive musical structure used in electronic musics, the modulation outcome produces musical feedback and affective effects. By informing users their relationship to targets, users move in space with audio – audio guides movement, and movement reshapes audio.
Distance-Related Audio Effect Modulation
From a HRTF spatialization and Spatial Modulation standpoint, the system provide multi-branch and recursive musical narrative enabled by audience. With speaker arrays of installations, this system provide advanced human-centered experience in the sound-field.
Each circular structure contains 1-3 target objects, that are spatialized by binaural panning. Distance to each target is remapped to the macro parameters of each audio object’s DSP, producing weaved parallel progressions and musical narratives.
FUTURE WORK
Coming soon……