Resound: Documentation and Forthcoming Workshops

I am in the process of establishing a user and developer group for the Resound system at Leeds University. This began with a short introductory workshop held on 14th December 09, where the system was briefly presented and demonstrated.

There is a new 'About' page on the Resound website that describes where to find information about the system, including links to documentation.

As for workshops, here are some plans, in no particular order:

Composers Workshop

Composers will work in the studio, exploring compositional applications of the Resound system. Specific uses will include: spatialising material for fixed medium presentation; composition of multiple stems with the intention of simultaneous independent diffusion.

Electroacoustic Diffusion Workshop

The Resound system is used in performance to diffuse works of electroacoustic music via a multi-loudspeaker setup. Performers will be asked to feedback on the appropriateness of the various different diffusion behaviours available, and generally to comment on the performance of the system. This kind of workshop could end with an informal performance.

Improvisation Workshop

The Resound system is used to spatialise sounds created by live performers (as opposed to sounds from CD). This builds upon work summarised in a paper entitled "Sound Spatialisation, Free Improvisation and Ambiguity" (available here), which was presented at the Sound and Music Computing Conference in 2008. Particular attention will be paid to: performance dynamic; use of the spatialisation system as an active instrument in an improvised context; ergonomics of the system as an instrument, particularly for diffusing multiple sources simultaneously.

Automation and Algorithmic Diffusion Workshop

This workshop will explore various methods that can be used to realise fully automated performances with the Resound system. Natively, Resound is a real-time system: one can only spatialise sound by interacting with the system in real-time. For this workshop, PureData (or MaxMSP) will be used to control spatialisation automatically. The results will be documented online.

Theatre Workshop

This workshop will focus on potential applications of the Resound system in theatre. This builds on previous networking events (see http://culturelab.ncl.ac.uk/auditoryenvironments/0803) in which sound spatialisation in theatre contexts has been discussed.

Installation Workshop

A workshop exploring the potential for using Resound to provide immersive audio for installations. The installations could be more or less interactive, depending on the venue and artistic intent. This workshop would combine elements of the Theatre and Automation workshops in particular.

Resound image featured in Newcastle University publicity materials

A few months ago this article showed an image of the Resound system being used on hoardings surrounding a construction site at Newcastle University. Now, in a delightfully recursive turn of events, a photograph of the image on the hoardings has appeared in Newcastle University's "Creating a Campus for the Future" brochure. The image appears on page 13, in the section entitled "Turning the vision into reality." Such is the benefit of doing research that looks cool.

Resound system - concepts and design principles

A video describing the thinking and design principles behind the Resound system can now be viewed online:

Click here to view the video.

For a higher resolution version (faster connections only) click here.

This presentation is based on a paper entitled "A Concept-Based System for the Live Diffusion of Sound via Multiple Loudspeakers," which can be downloaded from the publications page.

Resound and M2 in Leeds

The M2 and Resound spatialisation systems will both feature alongside the BEAST system in a two-day sound spatialisation event hosted by Leeds Metropolitan University and the Centre for Creative and Cultural Knowledge Exchange:

"The two-day event features a series of concerts and workshops on the techniques, practices and aesthetics of sound diffusion; the practice of enhancing spatial components of electronic music and sound sculpture through the use of multi-channel sound systems."

Resound at International Computer Music Conference

The Resound system is to be presented at the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC), Belfast, on 28th August 2008. The system will be presented in a poster session at the Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC), Queen's University. The poster session accompanies a paper that will be published in the proceedings, and which is also available for download here.

STEIM Composer Works with Resound System

Composer Robert van Heumen of STEIM has recently completed a two-week residency with the Resound system. The residency, which culminated with a public performance at Culture Lab, has been documented by the composer in this video and this blog. More photographs are available here.

Resound Featured on Newcastle University Billboard

The Resound system is being used to attract new students to Newcastle University. The system appears on billboards advertising the University as work on the new Student and Administrative Services building on Barras Bridge takes place. Click here for more images.

New Release of Resound

A new release of Resound - version 0.1.173 - is now available. This includes an automated installer for Ubuntu/Debian as well as an updated source code download. There is also a SuSE installer, very kindly maintained by Toni Graffy at PackMan. To download the packages, please visit the downloads page of the Resound website.

Resound System to Run Royal Musical Association Conference 2008

The Resound sound spatialisation system will be used to host the Royal Musical Association's 2008 annual conference, to be held at the Institute of Musical Research (IMR) at University of Aberdeen from 15th to 18th July.

Further details, including the conference programme, can be found on the IMR website.

Dead Dialogues: Sound Spatialisation in Free Improvisation

A video of this improvised performance can be found here.

The performance comprises three musicians: turntables, live electronics, and sound spatialisation. These sound spatialisation techniques used have tended in the past to be confined to the performance of 'fixed' music from CD. In a nutshell, the aim here was to experiment with sound spatialisation in a live, improvised context.

The performance took place as part of the Auditory Environments 0803 seminar on 10th March 2008. Spatialisation was performed using the Resound system.