Author Archives: Rose-Ebony Vargas

Creating Sound Assets for VR

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To create sounds for the VR collaboration, it was imposrtant to formulate an agreed upon plan between the whole group, which consists of six sound artists and two VR animators. This was to allow a steady and effiecient workflow, where tasks aren’t being left as an afterthought, or other tasks being done multiple times. I would have thought this would have looked like asigning particular tasks to different artists based on their strengnths, i.e. soemone who makes music to make any musical assets, someone who works with field recordings to take charge of foley, etc.

We decided to create a shared google doc for any assets, ideas and contributions towards the project. This allowed for us to collectively identify what needed to be done, and keep track of what had been done to better effectively assign when tasks should be done and by whom. We also identified between us sound artists key stages in creating sound assets, asigning ourselves deadlines for each stage. These stages included pre-production and experimentation, production and manipulating, and mixing in unity.

I would say the stage I felt most comfortable to particpate in was the pre-production and experimentation stage. We worked collaboritvely in the foley and composition studios to collect and create sounds that fit with the soundscape of the theme of our VR experience, which is a game set in space. To be able to use the time in these studios effectively, we created a list of sound assets we aimed to create, and had this list readily accessible to everyone in the shared google drive:

list of sound assets

Using a spreadhseet, the group kept notes on who created which assets, and a link to the asset so they could easily be accessed by anyone in the group. The sounds initially made could then be manipulated by anyone in the group, further adding the process of collaboration to the creation of sounds within the project.

I felt as though there were members of the group who participated more heavily in the initial recording and creation of sound assets, which should allow for others to particpate more heavily in the next stage in creating the sounds: production and manipulating. As I contributed a lot in the foley studio, I decided not to participate in the production stage as much. I did, however, create some ambient music that I thought was remnicsient of space, the theme of the game. It was quite a long piece of music that I thought could be nice as background ambience in one of the scenes, or even be used as a representation of the sound of space.

Although I contributed in the initial creation of sound assets, it would have shown better collaboration skills if I worked on manipulating the sounds that my peers had created, and therefore show my skills in production. The next stage, mixing in unity, requires learning a new skill for all sound artists in the group, therefore, I think it’s best if everyone assists each other by inputting the same level of contribution and effort.

Non-Linear Narrative in Immersive Experiences

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When working with VR, there is the option to create an experience that follows a non-linear structure. This means that the steps the user takes to reach the end of the experience may not be sequential consecutively (i.e. A-B-C), but rather follow a randomised order based on the choices presented to the user (i.e. A-D-F-C).

Creating an experience in Virtual Reality is way less about curating a journey for the user, but rather about providing the ambience and environment for the user to create their own journey. This is why it is important for the artists to create a “spirit of place”. This is referring to the distinctive qulities of the envirnment- the ambience of the envirnment. This term- spirit of place- alludes to an unmanipulated environment, oftentimes with supernatural qualities. Considering the “spirit of place” within art means that art becomes very interwined with spirituality. It begs the questions- is art a spiritual parctice? Must artists hold spiritual beliefs to be able to create art that moves the soul? What about us artists trying to escape the instability of spirituality?

A “sense of place” is much easier to grasp that a “spirit of place”. It is more tangible as it refers to a more “urban” tone. A sense of place is therefore perhaps easier to create than a spirit of place, as it refers to a feeling more constructed by the hands of man. Something within our own capabilities to construct. A sense of place is perhaps a communal sense, as it is manipulated by all the bodies which enter it. It isn’t mystical or “untouchable” the way a spirit of place is.

So when working with Virtual Reality, both these senses are things to be considered, and artists have to carefully think about how they’ll construct them authentically.

Sonic Practices of Resistance and Activism

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Many artists are inspired to create becuase they want to make a change in the world. Art created with no meaning has little longetivty. Art where the atist has poured their heart and life experiences into are the works of art which stay most implemented within history. Art made with these intentions may be seen as sonic activism.

Sonic Activism takes many forms and shapes. My good friend Tom Costello, Boy Lucid, leads nature walks across London and Ireland with the intention of opening up the question: “how can we re-engage with our environmental landscape?”. AM Kanngieser uses their sonic practices to contribute to ecological and geographical research. The Afrika Shrine founded by Fela Kuti was not just a place of cultural gathering, but also political gathering, where young Nigerians could discuss the future of post-Colonial Nigeria. Anything can be considered activism, as long as you speak on its intentions.

Ultra-red is a sound collective with an investment in activist art. As a collective, they look at social issues through the lense of Pierre Schaffer’s different listening modes, and look to work of Paulo Freier’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, which focuses on the use of converstion to reach a goal of humanisation between a group of oppressed people. Conversation promote collective listening, allowing people to become more immersed within a community. This helps to work towards a goal more aligned within everyones needs. Thinking on my own community I have started to build, Happiness Starts with Dancing, I am becoming aware of the importance of establishing conversations in order to build that communal value, to build connection between people. But in what ways is my community a form of sonic activism? Perhaps as I stated earlier, anything is activism as long as you speak on the intent.

“Culture as an aversion to politics”

Where I don’t particuarly wholeheartedly believe in any validated political theory, it would feel wrong to ground my community with “political belief”. However, I believe that with this stance, political change is much more tangible. Rather than create loud, angry movements that stigmatise the goal which one works towards, peaceful, creative outlets are more likely to inspire. At the moment, I am just throwing free dances during the day, which aleady changes the perception of what dance music is. It doesn’t have to be in the cold, dinginess of the night. It doesn’t have to be enshrined in an alcohol or drugs culture. I am not solely booking “big name” DJs, who are typically white, cis males. I am hoping to broaden the perception of who can fascillitate the sounds of the dance. Meanwhile, I am sharing online resources about the culture of the music which we share at our dances- I am hoping to expand this into a book club, which will fascilitate conversation, the same way Ultra-red does.

“If I can’t dance, I can’t be part of the revolution”

Happiness Starts with Dancing is remnicsent of 90s resistant movements in response to Government bans on musical gatherings.

“The function is anti-function as a function”

Sometimes, we need to just plant seeds, and live in the way we hope to see the world be. Then the world will become. 🙂

Spacialisation & Sound Assets

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Spacialisation a practice by which the composer or audio engineer utilises multi-channel audio systems and mixing techniques to manipulate how sound is percieved in a space. Most commonly used in gallery, art installation settings, and cinematic settings, spacialisation allows for sound to be percieved as “three-dimensional” (Lombardi, 1997), creating a listening expereince much more grounded in realism.

Before delving into playing with spacialisation, it is important to understand the customs and “laws” that surround the practice:

The Pan Laws

Linear Panning: The gains of the left and right channel should sum to 1. The channels will be panned at a 45 degree angle so that the sound reaches a “sweet spot” in the centre. Linear panning commonly has issues with phasing.
Constant Power Panning: Similar to linear panning, but the power is proportional to the squared amplitude, boosting the signal at the centre.
-4.5dB Pan Law: Considered a compromise between linear and constant panning, the -4.5dB pan law splits the difference between the aforementioned.
Ultimately, when a signal is passed centrally, the same output will be in both the left and right channels, which will cause a drop in signal at the centre.

The different surround sound set-ups

Quadrophonics / 4.0 Surround Sound: In this set up, four different speakers are placed in four different corners of a lsitening space, each channel playing back independent signals to one another. Introduced in the 1970s, 4.0 surround sound is designed to allow a listener to feel immersed within the environment of the recording.
LCRS: Left, Centre, Right and Surround Channel.
Diamond Surround Quad: The same tech spec as Quadrophonics but with the speakers face on to the centre rather than in the corners.

Definitions & Techniques: Recording, Mixing + Playback
Mono Sound: Sound Percieved as from a singular source; one dimensional.
Stereo Sound: Sound Percieved from multiple directions; allows for playroom with stereo mixing (utilising the left and right channel).
Image Position:
Ambisonics: A method for recording, mixing and playing back audio in a three dimensional space; audio can be heard from even beneath the listener, as ambisonic labs have mesh floors with loudspeakers placed underneath them.

Institutions + Proponents
IRCAM: A research unit based in France, investigating the fields of music and sound.
Stockhausen: Non-Profit foundation involved in the advancement of musicology, based on the work of Karlheinz Stockhausen.

The use of spacialisation is particuarly important in VR, as it allows for a more realistic experience. We don’t percieve sound in everyday life the way we do in headohones, or through stero speakers.

Sonic Ecologies

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The field of ecology is one of nature and ecosystems. It is a field of interconnectedness, sensitivity and presence. It is a lense that anything in existence can be analysed through. Ecology is simply the analysis of the relationships of any given thing to the environment in which it lives or exists in.

Jonathan Gillmurray looks into “ecological sound art” as a field of study. He makes the claim that environmentalism in sound art isn’t as recognised as it is in other art forms, and wants to make a case for ecological sound art to stand as its own distinct field outside of other ecological art practices and saound art istelf. He thinks of ecological sound art as specifically concerned with environmental issues. Whilst there is a “clear innaction” against the worsening environmental issues the earth faces, Bill McKibben noted back in 2005 that art and religion are mediums that humans truky digest, so to talk about issues and implement change, they must be adressed through these mediums, particuarly art.

So if ecological sound art specifically regards the state of our natural environment, then it must use these environments within the art. Perhaps this is why environmentalist art is often referred to as “land art”, as it is quite litteraly art made from the land. Gillmurray points to a growth in texts surrounding environmental discourse leading to a growth in the art based around these issues. The symbiosis of environmental academia and art can be seen in the field of ecomusicology, which concerns music, culture and nature. Gillmurray notes than sound art is not recognised within the field of ecomusicology. But why can’t it be? Gillmurray suggests that perhaps the term “music” within ecomusicoloy is too narrowing. But isn’t music a part of sound art, and would that not therefore mean that sound art could be one lense to anaylse culture and nature within ecomusicology? It feels as though sound art wants its own seperate validation and pushes itself out of broader art fields, rather than those art fields pushing away sound art. Because at the end of the day, what even is sound art? If we prescribe certain attributes to the meaning of sound art such as “art that contains sounds but cannot be too musical” or “art that contains visuals but cannot be too focussed on the visual”, it gives sound art a sense of elitism and pushes away artists from considering their art as part of this field. These attributes are essentially what Gillmurray is prescribing to sound art when he claims that it is not “musical enough” nor “visual enough” to be included within ecomusicology.

Perhaps the entire argument Gillmurray presents here in this article is based on personal feeling about what sound art means to him. Personally, reading his article affirmed to me how much a part of ecomusicology sound art is, and how interwined sound art is with every realm of the art world.

Being in El Salvador, a country built on volcanic land, preserving many of its indigineous traditions, I have been inspired to create what I would consider to be ecological sound art. Using field recordings taken (so far) from the top of the volcano using both the stero recorder and a contact microphone, I have begun creating music that will be scored to the visuals for my second Happiness Starts with Dancing film, Happiness Starts with Home. It is important for me to be able to construct the sounds made using sounds from the land, meaning I am quite litteraly making “land art”. The sounds I am creating are quite musical- they are inspired by the musical soundscape of El Salvador (Cumbia, Merengue), but perhaps according to Gillmurray, this would therefore make my art not be sound art, as it is too musical. Perhaps in that sense then, according to Gillmurray, I am not a sound artist, as I do not want to create sounds that leave the listener in a state of anxiety or clulessness. I want my sounds to provide a sense of safety and familiarity- a sense of home.

Introduction to Immersive Arts

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“Both virtual reality and the ecological panic are about immersive experiences in which our usual reference point, or illusion of one, has been lost.” – Timothy Morton.

The world of Virtual Reality and creating sound for the purpose of commercialisation may be a daunting one, perhaps even a nauseating one for many. But understanding how sound interacts with the screen, not just in the context of cinema and 2D game, can help further one’s understanding of sound art, and affirm their position as to why they create art.

The term “virtual reality” was coined in the mid 80s by John Lanier, founder of VPL (Virtual Programming Language) research. He used goggles and gloves to create realistic virtual environemnts, which is the basis of how we experience VR today. However, immersive expereinces date back further than that- what we would now recognise as a “4D cinematic experience) was estavblished in 1956, with the world of cinema looking for ways in which the viewer could feel more immersed within the world in which the film / experiene was based in. The history of immersive experiences and imaging doesn’t just reside in the entertainment fields; perhaps the entertainment fields owe a debt to the world of medicine, as the invention of the stereoscope in the 1800s uses very early versions of virtual reality technologies.

For the person partaking in the immersive experience via virtual reality, it is a beautiful experience (unless like myself, VR induces nausea). It allows for them to live within the art, become a part of it. In that sense, VR is a fascillatator of community- the most upheld human value. Perhaps this is why so many people are attracted to the world of VR. It allows them to build connection with not only the art, but the artist whose vision is being displayed. But is this the same notion for the artist fascillitating this imaginitive world? Although a creative proceedure, creating an immersive landscape requires a huge amount of craft, a team of people responsible for producing different assets, and timescales and budgets. With this, the process of creating an immersive experience becomes a job rather than a fun creative project- requring multiple levels of coordination and communication, with some artists on the team having to let go of their values as artists, as the outcome of the work must achieve certain standards that may not adhere to within their personal art. This particuarly applies to the sound designers on the team who are just given lists of assets; the process is much more task based and less collaboritively based than for the visual artists on the team. This therefore places Virtual Reality as a commercialisation of art and, in particular, sound.

In my own VR project, I am on a team made up of six sound artists and two visual artists. Our immersive experience is a game, set in space. We have not assigned set roles so everyone can partake it creating all the different sounds needed; foley, effects, music, etc.

my soundscape

I created this soundscape using synthesis and a heavy use of time stretching. I thought that this fits the aesthetic of “space”. However, it has not beenm used as someone else in the team has taken the role of creating the music.

Introduction to Reading + Writing

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I would like to base my research around the inaccessibility of academia, and how this restricts the topics which are recognised within the realm of sound art. I am going to research recognised DIY practices in the realm of sound art in comparison to DIY cultures in the world of dance music to show the latter as a valid sound art. To be able to tackle this topic, an understanding of DIY cultures, how academia becomes recognised as such, and the political landscape of educational institutions will be of importance. 

I believe this is an important topic to research due to a number of reasons. The main reason is because of my recent realisation that my practices within the dance music world may be seen as a novelty; the cultural implications of being a DJ takes this practice very far away from an academic context. Perhaps this is because the literature surrounding dance music culture and the practice of DJing focuses on the cultural history, particularly pertaining to its strong association with drugs and free party culture (for the most part). Authors such as Simon Reynolds have played a part in tackling this lack of knowledge surrounding dance music culture, with his detailed Energy Flash being one the texts I will use in reference when writing the essay. Perhaps though, this only makes speaking on this topic important for myself and my ego. Something else I hold of importance within work I create is to create a sense of interconnectedness and community. It would therefore be important to analyse this topic from an ecological standpoint, ecology in sound art therefore needing to be understood.

So the initial building of this essay will be based on texts surrounding DIY cultures, dance music and ecology. I have therefore identified Riot Grrrl, Energy Flash, and Ecology without Nature as my initial chosen texts. However, these texts will not provide insight into the main topic of my essay, which is the innaccessibility of academia. A text that I have identified to gain an understanding of the problemetising of academia is Dark Academia: How Universities Die by Peter Fleming. Hopefully through analysing these initial texts, I will be able to gain an understanding of what the actual issues are within academia which classifies it as a restrictive field, and how these relate to dance music and DIY cultures, and will therefore be able to build a solid question that my essay will respond to.

Audio Paper Review

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My audio paper was delivered in a soft, meditative voice to complement the poetic concept of the topic discussed. Whilst written with an academic tone, it makes a constant comparison of turntablism to the earth, which fills the audio paper with metaphors, which works well with the poetic concept. Perhaps, however, this was too heavily focused on, which meant that the audio paper lacked depth of content. The bulk of the audio was my own narration, leaving the paper feeling quite thinly textured. Personally, I am a fan of this, but I am aware that this may bore many listeners. Given the context of examined work, the ten minute time constraint is what makes the focus on the style of prose a problem here. There was too much of a heavy focus on the same point, which I loved the richness of description of and detail too, but takes away from the listener’s experience of knowledge. Regardless, some insights into the art of crate digging, the foundations of the popular music industry, and the environmental impact of the vinyl industry were given.

As someone whose words are often misinterpreted due to the speed at which I speak (which also sometimes causes entire passages of sound to be lost from words, or even whole words entirely), I found it important to really take my time when speaking. The clarity of the words and audio is undeniable here. I found it important to add audio from the piece I spoke about, as I want the listener to gauge a full understanding of what I am speaking about. This also allows space for pretty, but delicate sound design, allowing for fragments of my experiment with Maria Chavez’s abstract turntablism technique to be heard throughout, as well as adding a sense of physicality to some words and explanations.

Although I did not get to interview an established vinyl collector working within the vinyl industry, I did carry out an interview as part of my research. I found that interviewing my friend, Maddie Corleone, allowed for the conversation to flow naturally, with our ideas bouncing off of each other for a whole half hour. This provided much good content for perhaps a future document more centred around dance music culture, but also provided some gems of wisdom which I embedded scarcely throughout the audio paper. Again here, the time constraint became a problem; I felt very limited as to how much of the interview I could include without forfeiting my script.

On a very honest note, the biggest downfall of my audio paper was the lack of focussed research. Time constraints did, still however, hinder the display of knowledge gathered from research particularly on my words about sustainability. It would have been wise to base my points on research, rather than the other way, as there is so much literature, and one can interpret a whole host of ideas from just one line of academic prose, yet it feels so difficult to do so the other way around. I would have also loved to have spoken more on the art of abstract turntablism, as that is where the idea for this audio paper stemmed from in the first place. I would like to note that whilst I am aware this isn’t particularly of academic standard, this audio paper was written from a place of the heart and the soul. With this, I mean that the ideas discovered in the audio paper are ideas that without the guide of this course, and consequently the research I carried out, I would not have been able to verbalise. This process has taught me that within the realm of sound art, my purpose is to use and create academia that provides explanation for intrinsic human qualities and needs.

Audio Paper Script: Introduction Draft 1

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*Record crackling*
Narator: A turntable is an abstraction of the earth- a constant cycle rotating steadily in one direction, and the records- the life that inhabits the earth; they have endings, and once one record ends, the next one is played. The music may end, but the facilitation doesn’t. Analog sound may be connected to the earth more than we think about when using analog instruments. Whilst digital developments in sound distribution may be the path of the future, the A side of this audio paper demonstrates and provides an argument for why vinyl culture will have a much greater historical and cultural impact. 

As a turntablist DJ, I view my artform as storytelling, using records to evoke and heal feelings within those listening, grounding the sound in one type of music whilst creating an abstractified journey with the sound design of the selection; this presentation of music which I liken to the electronic empowerment of the turntable. Turntables, like much analog equipment, are connected to the mixer or amplifier through RCA cables. {explain small science behind RCA cables in terms of earth wire, unbalanced etc} {link this to the way in which i present music}. {quick demonstration of a set I would do}. To achieve this feeling of grounding and journey within my sets, I value the importance of crate digging- arguably the main practice keeping vinyl culture alive today. A lifelong practice which {insert name of interviewee} thinks of as {insert extract of interview describing crate digging} {continuation of extracts from the interview}

As is immediately obvious to any reader, this frist draft at a script is a clear failure. It starts off promising, with a “stage direction” being given immediately, showing that there is life and thought going into the journey of the audio. However, with the topic of the audio paper being completely centred around turntablism, it was really the only sound effect that was reasonable to be inserted. It felt futile, only writing this once, and / or having it feature in the audio paper only once. Regardless, the opening of the script is still strong- written somewhat poetically, it allows the reader to feel the same adoration for turntablism as I, giving them a deeper interest into the topic.

However, great adoration of the topic doesn’t equal great execution of education on said topic. The first problem I stumbled into was that I couldn’t find research to justify my points. I searched endlessly for an article or academic explanation of the science behind RCA cables, what each component means and carries. Because of this, I wasn’t able to make the metaphorical link between the art and the technical set up of turntablism. It also greatly disheartened me from trying to look for the science behind earthing wires. The second great barrier I came accross was that I wasn’t able to insert a demonstartion of a set I would do, as the quality of recording was far too poor- it would seem as thought the connection on my needles for the turntables don’t pick up effectively whilst recording, though they seem fine to be used live. Whilst a solution around this would be to book a studio to carry out the recording, most commercial studios don’t have turntables, and the ones that do were booked too far ahead and would hinder the process of completing the audio paper. The final problem that occured is that I couldn’t find an interviewee in the time I thought I would be able to. The turntablists I am in contact with who would have provided wisdom on this topic were far too busy touring / gigging / just working. Most people don’t have time to be interviewed for merely a university project.

However, just because I cannot find acadmeic texts to support knowledge that I already have, doesn’t mean I cannot include it to some degree. It may be hard to justify my topic because of this, which will push me to use emotive language and tone when delivering the audio paper.

Abstract Turntablism: In Practice

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Using Maria Chavez’s technique of breaking records and layering them atop one another on the turntable to create sound collage, I carried out a ten minute long recording. When recording from my own turntables, there is a constant low hum due to my lack of earthing cables. On top of this, the signal from my needles when recording is poor. However, I found these “hinderances” actually came to elevate the effect of my experiment. Chavez uses much more ambient sounding records, records with deep sonic interest and a lack of musicality. I wanted to complete my experiment by tying it into my usual DJ style, by using dance records. I used a pile of warped early hardcore records that I found, and defects from my workplace Rhythm Section. I found this to be a sustainable practice, as I was putting to use vinyl that would have been otherwise discarded, as opposed to going out and buying new (though second hand) records.

Abstract Turntablism in practice: failed attempt at snapping records
Abstract Turntablsim in practice: successful attempt at snapping records

The older, less weighted records were much easier to snap. It felt blasphemous, snapping these records which carry so much value to the early UK dance music scene. In a way though, I felt like it was an abstractification of how I feel about the dance music scene right now. Where jungle was born from a place of pure enjoyment of music and breaking away from the drugs culture of acid house, it has returned to exactly that- it is broken. I would love to explain how amazing the sounds produced from this process are, but you can hear for yourself here below: