Modulate Sonic Circle at Shambala 09
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For the woodland area at Shambala Festival 2009, Modulate continued to expandand and develop upon previous years multiple speaker sound installations, creating a larger version of the Sonic Circle , using a custom 10.2 rig flown in the trees comprising of 10 xNexo PS 8s, plus a larger stereo system based on the ground, with a smaller 10.2 monitoring system inside our Yurt control center.
With the 10.2 system, the stereo signal can be filtered & panned around the 10 speakers in different directions or in a random panning mode, the stereo system on the ground can receive the full frequency spectrum or be used as the sub for the 10 surround speakers, also effects can be added & these can be filtered & panned independently to the stereo signal. the idea is to create a moving stereo sound stage in which the system can be constantly tweaked or tuned to work with different tracks or soundscapes …. but you would really need to hear it to get the full idea!
This year, instead of the circle being visually defined by small led’s
inside the speakers, we had 40 x 1000 liter IBC containers with DMX controlled luminares inside. Recycled IBC containers have been used by other artists to create various lighting installations, one of the better known being Modularbeat‘s Kubik installation / portable outdoor club, which has appeared in major urban spaces across Europe. However after we were asked by Shambala if we could incorporate the use of similar containers into the Modulate space, we thought it would be fun to try a new take on the idea, translated from an urban space into a woodland glade.
Having previously designed a number of light and sound installations using Max/MSP, multi-speaker sound systems & DMX controlled lighting within fiberglass orbs & light sticks, programmer and sound designer Bobby Bird found it a relatively smooth process to translate similar software design to the cubes, while David Checkley, technical support, sourced materials and pulled together a great team of able & willing assistants to build the installation on site.
Aside from the Sonic Circle and the cubes, we projected live quartz
animations onto a circular screen, laser projections onto the tree canopy, UV canvases on trees, a chilled fog machine, plus electronic sounds flying in all directions, selected all over the three nights by Mark Bunegar & Bobby Bird (Modulate).
As well as original material, some of the artists / labels played included Raster Notion: Alva Noto, Senking, Pixel, Nibo, Ryoji Ikeda, Kangding Ray, Komet, Stephan Mathieu, BJ Nilsen, Fluxion, Robert Henke / Monolake, Gerhard Behles, Frank Bretschneider + Steinbruchel, Robert Hampson, Klovn, Atom TM, Deep Chord, Hem, Autechre, Shuttle 358, Tetsu Inoue, Helena Gough, Fennesz, Rhythm and Sound, Trente Moller, Pole, Vladislav Delay, Coh, Main, Weiland Samolak, Loscil, EU, Smyglyssna, Signal, Biosphere, Sutekh, Gramm, Masters of Psychedelic Ambience, EU, Bretschneider + Dupree , Atom TM, Burnt Friedman.
The Modulate team this year :
Bobby Bird: sounds + sound design, Max/MSP programming and concept for the Sonic
Circle, programing for the light cubes.
Dave Checkley : production manager
+ his team of helpers, Cloe, Ant, and Bob
Liam: all round help & sound tech install
Mark Bunegar : sound selection and graphics
Sean Clark Cuttlefish : laser projections
Joseph Potts: UV canvas
Scylla : live quartz projections
Mark Harris: quartz composer programing
Dowd: professional tree climber , & Denise
Martin Vernan & Kika: mission transportation
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Modulate were invited to spend a week at SONM in Murcia, Spain – a new Centre for Sound Art and Experimental Music curated by Francisco Lopez. Here we gave a presentation, performed a concert, and showcased a new installation , the “Modulate Octophonic Loop System” , an 8.1 sound installation developed by Bobby Bird exploring new ways to present Modulate’s unique sound, which remained exhibited at SONM after we left.
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