Meyer Sound premieres Spacemap Go with Bill Fontana's play

The exhibition 'Primal Energies' by this sound artist is made up of eight large format screens and 64 self-powered speakers. Sensory impact is enhanced by dynamic spatial sound movements, created and automated that are created using new technology.

A new exhibition by renowned sound artist Bill Fontana, Entitled Primal Energies, was inaugurated on 1 July at the museum Kunsthaus Graz in Austria.

Occupying the Space Gallery 01 ovoid dome, Primal Energies pays tribute to the future of renewable energy through a mix of video footage and evocative soundscapes that portray the expansion of wind resources, Solar, hydroelectric and geothermal of our planet.

While displaying the images on the eight large format screens, visitors are immersed in an evocative mix of sounds reproduced by 64 self-powered speakers Meyer Sound, brand that distributes in Spain RMS Pro Audio.

The sensory impact of the installation is enhanced by the dynamic movements of spatial sound, created and automated using a beta version of Spacemap Go technology.

The sounds and images of the work were recorded by Fontana with the assistance of Scott George, company Autograph Sound based in London.

During the preparatory period, Fontana and George were recruited to serve as beta testers for Spacemap Go, a spatial sound design and mixing tool that leverages the processing of the Galaxy network platform, providing an easy-to-use interface for multi-channel panning using one or more iPads, connected to systems that include multiple Galaxy processors.

"Spacemap Go is the digital brain behind everything that's going on with the dynamic spatialization of sound.. It allows me to do everything I did before with the D-Mitri system, but working directly with Galaxy makes it much more cost-effective, especially if you're planning something like a permanent installation in a museum or in an architectural setting.", says Fontana.

Fontana was also impressed by the creative freedom offered by the intuitive iPad app of Meyer Sound's new technology.. "We used the iPad to set up everything in the enclosure.. We wanted to create a kind of sonic choreography through space., and the flexibility of Spacemap Go made it the ideal tool to make it happen".

Scott George has collaborated with Fontana on more than a dozen projects over the years., and with Primal Energies was again responsible for the overall design of the AV system, as well as the specific design of the audio system within the space of 900 square meters.

Fontana's 'sonic canvas' was a matrix grid of 56 Meyer Sound UPM-1P full-range speakers supported by eight 900-LFC subwoofers. For the audio system checkpoint, George chose a Mac Mini computer with QLab software for playback of 24 canals, which connected to all four Galaxy distributed processors over an AVB network.

All space trajectories were created on site with Spacemap Go and then saved as a file for automated panning in sync with the playback program.

"The iPad interface for Spacemap Go makes it much simpler and more intuitive for the artist to move sounds wherever they want., instead of using a mouse or keyboard. This also allows Bill to bring multiple tracks at the same time., so you can test multiple trajectories before we save them. And the fact that you can use multiple iPads simultaneously allows artists to work collaboratively in the same space.", comments George.

Asimsimo, Geoge thinks Spacemap Go leverages the power of existing hardware, using speakers that are already in the inventory of rental companies around the world. "All they will need is the new firmware update and they will be ready to deploy Spacemap Go for their customers".

He is also impressed by the way Spacemap Go easily communicates with widely adopted playback and show control programs., as QLab, with audio and data carried over the AVB network.

"We just took out four ports from the AVB switch and passed them to each of the Galaxy., bringing multi-channel audio and data. We also established an intuitive user interface in the QLab where the museum operator only has to press a button to start and stop.".

For George, Spacemap Go offers the ultimate in simplicity for large multi-channel sound installations. "When running multiple programs from discrete outputs to individual speakers, that necessarily involves a lot of amplifiers. It's hard to find space in a cramped museum environment. The self-powered approach is much more efficient.".

For Bill Fontana, Spacemap Go was an extraordinarily useful tool in what he describes as "deconstruction" of the typical soundtrack of a video.. "Here the sounds are not localized in a specific video. All are related to the common theme, but the sounds scroll throughout the space creating this incredible surround sound experience as you move from one screen to another.".

Another key member of the "Primal Energies" project team was Martin Beck, by the Austrian company Technik für Kunst and Kuturprojekte. Beck oversaw the on-site installation and his company also provided all AV equipment., except Meyer Sound speakers, that were provided by Prg Hamburg.

Other articles on Autograph Sound, Bill Fontana, Meyer Sound, Museo Kunsthaus Graz, Prg, RMS Proaudio