CATHEDRAL-64
- 2023 - HARVESTWORKS - NEW YORK, NY -

Printed Circuit Board, Electronics, Speakers, 18-2 Speaker Wire, Hardware

A spatial audio instrument and composition system, controlling 64 sample accurate 1-bit audio channels.

Swarming tones shift and modulate over time, dancing across the walls of the Cathedral. A wafting sound that hangs heavily in the air like incense.

PHOTO: ANDRES MERCADO

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Cathedral-64 is an immersive audio installation and instrument exploring the use of a very large number of spatialized sound sources. 64 individually controlled speakers are driven with sample-accurate 1-bit (square wave) outputs from a custom designed electronic audio system. The piece explores the musical and psychoacoustic possibilities of this instrument, with an emphasis on continued compositional experimentation throughout the duration of the exhibition.

The central electronic elements of the piece are displayed on a pedestal in the center of the space, with cabling running up to the ceiling and out to each speaker, creating the impression of a vortex or pillar of wire. 64 speakers are mounted in a grid pattern on the space’s walls and ceiling, surrounding the listener in fully 3-dimensional sound.

The piece works both on an auditory and a visual level, by creating a deeply physical and meditative sound environment, while simultaneously displaying the beauty of the instrument and the hardware used to create the sound.


VIDEO: ANDRES MERCADO, AUDIO RECORDED LIVE USING PRESONUS MATCHED CONDENSER PAIR