Reverberating sound installed in YCAM's patios
Enjoy piano soundscapes you will not experienced elsewhere

The next work to be introduced in the "sound tectonics installation" series of media technology-based sound art taking place at YCAM's patios is a new sound installation made from piano recordings.
A unique piece of sound art that makes use of computers to charge music with aspects of spatial expansion and translocation, this brand new work based on high-grade piano recordings is introduced to visitors in the familiar setting of YCAM's own recreation oases. Come and explore the fascination of sound art in an exhibition that showcases the multifarious ways of spatial representation of the piano's timbre.

Opening up new artistic and technical horizons for originality in sound art

Since its establishment, YCAM has been exploring the original expressive potential of electronic music and sound art. When focusing on the usage of media technology not only in video and other forms of visual expression, but especially also on its function in the realm of sound, we can perceive temporal and spatial acoustic qualities that haven't previously existed in art. This series pursues the new possibilities of artistic expression that emerge when the human senses of vision, hearing and touch are reconsidered on an equal level.
These possibilities include among others the installation of a 5.1 channel sound system that creates a unique acoustic sensation of sound "welling up from the floor" of the glass-walled patios, which generate the YCAM foyer's pleasantly relaxing atmosphere. The idea behind the "sound tectonics installation" series is to produce in the unique environment of these patios opportunities for visitors to appreciate sound art in a daily life setting.
Such commissioned works are created and exhibited at YCAM with the ultimate aim to establish a "platform" for expanding the possibilities of artistic experience and expression through the dialogue with artists and their works.


Commissioned sound art series at YCAM's patios "sound tectonics installation"
#1. Taylor Deupree + Christopher Willits
"LISTENING GARDEN" (2004)

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new sound installation [commissioned by YCAM]
Keiichiro Shibuya + evala
"for maria installation version"

A sound space filled with processed, decomposed and reconfigured piano sounds
This sound installation piece is based on data taken from the latest piano solo album "ATAK015 for maria", composed and performed by musician Keiichiro Shibuya. Sound data of all pieces included in the CD were repeatedly processed, decomposed and reconfigured with a computer program, introducing new layers in order to redefine the relationships between the single tracks, and ultimately create a body of sound that is completely different from the CD's contents.
Two versions of the work are installed in two of the YCAM's Patios, known for their unique "wall of sound" effect, using 5.1/5.1+2 channel speakers with a distinctive sound embedded in the floor. In response to the Patios' different architecture and spatial acoustics, the respective installations work with differently programmed sound. The programming by Shibuya himself together with sound artist evala was designed to create a sense of three-dimensional movement within a constantly transforming sound space and shifting sonic layers.
Fragments of a high-quality DSD recording (128 times higher resolution compared to a conventional CD) of Shibuya's piano performance were processed, decomposed and layered with a special computer program, with the aim to establish a sonic environment in which sound seems to be traveling three-dimensionally. As the resolution of the original sound recording is on a totally different level from commonly used field recording or computer music data, the work was artfully conceived as an endless process of continuous transformation of sound that pervades the space as organically as smoke. Employing computer programs to fully explore the possibilities of spatial expansion, the sound processing is so complex and diverse that it is hard to believe that it is all based on the same data, presenting the visitor with music and sound that seems absolutely new. Listening to the sound as it moves around inside the Patios gives the visitor an acoustic experience of a soundscape that is perfectly unique to this exhibition.


Keiichiro Shibuya + evala
Keiichiro Shibuya and evala are two of the driving forces behind ATAK, a label that has been attracting attention around the world with releases of elaborately produced experimental music. Having initiated the "third term music" project with Takashi Ikegami, a scholar in the field of complex systems science and professor at Tokyo University, they keep operating on the cutting edge of computer music. In 2006, they unveiled "filmachine", a three-dimensional sound installation created in-residence at YCAM. This piece was awarded an Honorary mention in the Digital Music section at Ars Electronica, and subsequently exhibited in Berlin. A worldwide tour of the "ATAK NIGHT4" live music event in 2009 helped solidify the artists' international reputation, and expand the range of their influence.
The new work that is unveiled at YCAM this time marks for both artists the first occasion to build a sound installation out of piano sounds, and focus on sound (through a 5.1 channel speaker system) alone without adding visuals.


Organizer: Yamaguchi City Foundation for Cultural Promorion
Support: Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi City Board of Education
Cooperation: ATAK
Technical Support: YCAM InterLab
Produced by Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM]