We join five of our final year Bristol students to learn more about their ambitious projects for Innovation in Sound 2025.
It won’t be long before our final year undergraduate students descend on Bristol’s Loco Klub for the Innovation in Sound showcase (Thu 1st May), so it’s the perfect opportunity to spotlight some more exciting projects being exhibited at the public showcase.
If you missed the first part of our coverage, be sure to read our interviews with Noah Park-Roesel, who’s installation uses a live chess game to generate ambient music; and Sara Aquino who is using the opportunity to explore feelings of belonging through a multi-channel mixed media installation.
This time around we’re looking at three unique projects that experiment with audience interaction in vastly different ways.
Manu Fito Lopez and Ivan Sanchez
BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering
Manu in front of the main mixing console at Real World Studios
Your installation is using water to create generative audio and light. In basic terms, how does it all work?
“The structure consists of a water container, made of plywood with two 10” loudspeakers mounted on each side of it, facing each other. Aluminium vessels float on the water, hitting each other thanks to the water movement produced by the low powerful vibrations of the speakers.
“Thanks to a hydrophone, the sound of the vessels is captured and processed through Max MSP creating a blanket of sound in 8.1 that attempts to immerse the audience. Simultaneously, lights inside the water move according to the sound, creating interesting visuals projected through the water’s lens-like effect.”
The themes behind the project relate to social interactions and the unique networks humans create with each other. How do you hope these themes are communicated through your projects?
“It’s a great question that we hope the exhibition will answer… It’s an installation that aims to come alive with people interacting with it. We will invite anyone around to touch the vessels, play with the water or (gently!) shake the structure.
“The idea comes from the unique interactions humans experience with each other as individuals and as an ecosystem. The ecosystem is represented by the container and the speakers, directly influencing the way the vessels (what would be individuals in a social system) interact with each other. It explores the idea of shared consciousness, how we are influenced by each other and by our environment.”
What are you most looking forward to when exhibiting the project in May?
“Seeing the thing come alive! We are still working it out and haven’t got it fully working so the nerves are building up as the date arrives. The idea of this creature coming together for the exhibition and seeing people interacting with it or just experiencing it in any way is really exciting!”
Malcolm Joy - ‘The Dome’
BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering
‘The Dome’ is an interactive, hanging metal mobile that visitors can play. What was the inspiration behind presenting this project in such a way?
“I found the metal dome abandoned in a property which I am taking care of, and was inspired to use it as the focal point for my project since it’s a really resonant and interesting object. I think it’s the lid for an outdoor fireplace but I’m not sure.
“The initial ideas I had were very different from what I’ve decided to pursue, including how I could potentially use it in a bespoke feedback generation instrument which would utilise its resonance. Eventually, I got more and more interested in the idea of harnessing contact microphones after realising how accessible they are!
“I got a soldering iron for Christmas after seeing content online about contact microphones and their use in noise boxes: a little company called Post War Designs at comes to mind. The idea which I’ve landed on became obvious to me one day whilst I was thinking about all these ideas and how I could combine them.
“With the project nearing completion and its showcase at the Loco Klub, I’m hoping that it’s going to be even better than I initially expected! Regardless, I think it’s more exciting this way to have created something really accessible and that can be played and interpreted by multiple people at once.
What were some of the key technical processes involved in this project?
“Learning basic wiring and how to solder would be the main technical learning curve I reckon. I knew nothing about any of this before I started, but was keen to give it all a try in order to make the noise boxes. I think they could continue to be useful in sound design and other projects long after this installation is displayed too.
“The other main learning curve, which is less technical but still something which was new to me and important, was learning how to drill and work with metal. I have made all the noise boxes by scratch without any previous experience with drilling or metal working. To be honest with you, I taught myself.”
‘The Dome’ is very much about open collaboration. Why is that such an important theme for you as a creative?
“It wasn’t a very important factor initially until I landed upon this idea; I’ve since realised the potential of collaboration and what could transpire if all goes according to plan. If all goes well and I manage to execute on this idea and everything works, I can’t wait to see what people come up with in terms of playing the dome by themselves or with other people who they may or may not know, etc.
“Technically speaking, I don’t see a reason why it couldn’t be used as a conventional instrument, albeit a strange one. This is the most exciting part of the whole thing for me as we approach the installation’s showcase. I have tried to make it accordingly inspiring and varied and versatile. I can’t wait for people to try all sorts of stuff with it. Also, all of it will be recorded, which makes it particularly fun! I reckon I should make all the stems available for anyone to download and use after the showcase, by the way. That would be nice.”
Do you have a background in building custom instruments or is this a new venture for you?
“Completely new. I have been learning on the job for this one.”
What are you most looking forward to when exhibiting the project in May?
“It will be fun to see people enjoy the sound installation, musicians and non-musicians alike. I am excited to see what people think! It would be particularly cool if people got together and played an improvised piece using all of its parts, or came together to use it for a live Foley performance. The possibilities are endless.”
Josh Squires and Jack Thompson - ‘Not Musical Chairs’
BA (Hons) Electronic Music Production
In a nutshell, explain your project ‘Not Musical Chairs’ and talk us through how people’s movement will change the piece.
“‘Not Musical Chairs’ in a non-linear, interactive 8.1 exhibit. Three chairs within a spatial audio arena, all connected to an ongoing generative composition via contact mics, gyroscopic information fed through MAX MSP, and tracked visually by external camera(s).
“All of these relate to creative modulation instructions that can be explored and played with to alter the piece surrounding you, from the timbre to how the audio is presented spatially and compositionally.”
What were some of the key technical processes involved in this project?
“It was a combination of:
- Generative instruments within Ableton
- Amplitude information collected from contact mics attached to the chairs, through MAX MSP converted to randomising/controlling macros on our created instruments. Selected contact mics will trigger synths
- X/Y/Z gyroscopic movement information collected by Wii remote and sent to MAX via Bluetooth, used to control parameters within Ableton Live
- Foley recordings played spatially around the 8.1, triggered by transient threshold.”
What drew you to presenting this idea in 8.1?
“Presenting this piece in spatial audio felt like the only way to make it truly interactive. One of the key factors of building the immersive sonic playground that we intend to create is that the listeners are in the center of the sound, so when it changes, it becomes a part of the physical structure of the experience, rather than something purely aesthetic or ‘decorative’.”
What are you most looking forward to when exhibiting the project in May?
“Watching and listening to people create their own experiences and pathways in our exhibit; already in testing we have created some interesting, and emotively unique moments in the audio, and we’ve never had it set up for anything like the time the exhibit will be available, we’re sure through the day we’ll hear some really cool stuff.”
Innovation in Sound 2025 is a one-day free showcase taking place at
Loco Klub on Thursday 1st May, 1pm - 11pm.
To check out these projects in-person and many others, visit Headfirst to secure your free tickets.
