Spiral Ambient

Recording the entire spiral hall space using binaural microphones and DSD

This is Shuta Hasunuma. I will be holding a public recording titled "Spiral Ambient" at Spiral Hall on March 11, 2016. I received an offer from Susumu Kunizaki, editor of Sound & Recording Magazine, last year, and have been toying with the idea ever since. This public recording is an attempt to record the space of Spiral Hall itself.

One of my projects is the "Ambient Series." These projects, which I've undertaken to date (Roppongi Ambient (with Shuta Ishizuka + Misato Kinoshita + Mari Fukudome)), Hayama Ambient (with Ken Ito + Teita Iwabuchi + Hiroki Chiba + Satoru Higa + Hisashi Wada), Matsubara Onsen Ambient (with U-zhaan), and Marunouchi Ambient), involve performances that blend seamlessly into the surrounding environment in places where music isn't usually produced. Rather than the audience perceiving a single sound image, I create different listening experiences by moving through the space. Furthermore, I apply my musical compositional techniques to various media, presenting video, sound, sculpture, and installations, and holding solo exhibitions. By installing my music in the form of an exhibition, I also leave the listening experience to the audience.

I feel that it is extremely difficult to document such musical performances, which deviate from the so-called concert format. This is a format that goes beyond the concept of two stereo outputs, and with an infinite number of viewpoints (listening points), the recording methods and media will naturally have to change.

As mentioned above, the program we will be recording this time will be an approach that deviates from the so-called concert format. A binaural microphone will be placed in the center of the Spiral Hall, and DSD recording will be performed. In other words, it will be an attempt to record the entire Spiral Hall space in 360 degrees.

I don't think that the sound obtained through high-resolution recording necessarily sounds better. How can I put it? It gives the impression of deep, detailed sound being recorded in every corner of a spacious, wide sound vessel. It sounds natural, but because it passes through the filter of the microphone, it doesn't seem real... With the DSD format in particular, I get the feeling that it's not just recording the actual sounds, but even the atmosphere of the sounds themselves. That's why I use the DSD (2.8MHz) format when I do field recordings.

Now, to the core of the project, I sent several rhythms to dancer Yasutake Shimaji, who has performed both domestically and internationally, including with The Forsythe Company, and asked him to create a choreograph from them. By setting certain rules, a melody was composed from the choreography. The resulting melody was then performed by a four-person ensemble consisting of Shuta Ishizuka (guitar), Utena Kobayashi (steel pan), Tomohiko Gondo (euphonium), and Seigen Tokuzawa (cello). While the relationship between choreography and composition has historically been approached in various ways, I hope to explore new relationships that emerge when melodies are composed and performed, as if drawn by the choreography, and then danced together. Furthermore, three poets, including Sayaka Osaki, Odo Shiratori, and Misei Akatsukikata, perform recitations centered around the poet Ryota Yamada.

I will also be installing several art pieces I have created in the venue, which will modulate the sound space. Dancer Shimaji Yasutake's performance will naturally generate sound (I mentioned earlier that high-resolution recording captures even the presence of sound), and I wanted to create an atmosphere in the same way as creating a garden. In past exhibitions, I have created works using a garden-creation approach, but together with stage designer Sasaki Ayami, I am trying to create an atmosphere that will produce non-kinetic sounds.

Based on the goal of recording the entire Spiral Hall space using a single binaural microphone setup and high-resolution recording, the entire project will be constructed taking into consideration all factors, including the phase of the sound, acoustics, timbre, and noise caused by the placement of the performers and the movement of the performance. Abandoning the idea of ​​championing diversity or introducing chance, the sounds and movements of the spatially positioned performers are perfectly composed. By making the acts of each genre that come together in this performance all monophonic, we hope to more clearly depict the practice of this acoustic approach.