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Sound Space, a weeklong festival of spatial sound taking place from December 14 to 18 at Performance Works in Granville Island, is set to defy the boundaries of performance and listening experiences. 

Presented in partnership between Lobe Studio and New Forms Festival, Sound Space features an exciting lineup of multimedia artists, musicians, and electronic music pioneers including loscil, Tiffany Ayalik, Future Ecologies, and Suzanne Ciani, whose work will be powered by 4DSOUND, an ultra-immersive sound technology.  

The festival’s program runs through a number of themes: bioacoustics, storytelling, augmented reality, locality, interspecies exchanges, and the explorations of inner space and outer space. Bioacoustics, for example—sonic interactions between us and the natural environment—will be at the centre of sets from interdisciplinary composer (and Lobe artist-in-residence) Ruby Singh and plant musician Modern Biology, whose works are informed by the vibrations, textures, and processes of the natural world. 

Environmental listening comes through many of Sound Space’s highlights, which includes an appearance by legendary composer and sound ecologist Hildegard Westerkamp. Westerkamp is presenting three different works in Octophonic, an eight-channel speaker system where sound waves overlap that’s considered a stepping stone to 4DSOUND. 

This is Sound Space’s second year running. Kris Voveris, executive director of New Forms Festival—which has been at the forefront of experimental art and media in Vancouver since its inception in 2000—first initiated the series with Lobe in 2021. 

“It really connects with [how] New Forms support[s] emerging new mediums of creativity and expression through various forms of experiences,” Voveris tells the Straight. “And that encompasses both music and sound installations, as well as a wider range of programming and engagement.”  

Joining forces with Lobe was a natural choice. The studio is home to North America’s first fully-integrated 4DSOUND system, which creates sound environments using a multi-channel system of speakers and software. The technology was created by the 4DSOUND studio in Amsterdam. 

“What sets 4DSOUND apart is the level of precision that you can get,” explains Hannah Acton, Lobe’s creative director. “It's known for its capacity to build a sonic hologram. You don't hear any of the speakers, you hear the sound that it's building in the space, and then it will send it on spatial pathways so it can move beyond the architectural parameters of the actual space. 

“There's something that really happens on a neurological level when you're interacting with this virtual kind of sonic environment and that's what 4D sound is really interested in: research, health applications, and the way that sound affects us physically and neurologically.”

For the festival, Performance Works will be emptied and outfitted with velvet curtains for sound absorption, as well as 40 omni-directional speakers arranged in the floor, on the ceiling, and at various levels around the room. 

“One of the beautiful things about 4DSOUND is it really transforms the directions and the layout of these kinds of music and art experiences,” Voveris says. The space will be constantly rearranged to accommodate the different installations, he adds, and also in order to offer attendees a range of accessible ways to interact. There will be modular furniture and pads to lay down on. 

“It doesn't expect a focused body in a chair,” Acton continues. “You can come in as you are and it’s different than how you might have to prepare yourself to arrive at a show that's going to ask for a very particular kind of attention. And so the idea is there's maybe more opportunities for folks to resource themselves and to get really specific things that they need out of these experiences.”  

Sound Space will also feature DJ sets, panel discussions, artist Q&As, and remote presentations of work from MONOM, Berlin’s centre for spatial sound. Interdisciplinary artist and poet A Space for Sound will offer a guided sound bath, using tank drums and live looping to facilitate deep relaxation. And, there will be a live performance from Lobe founder Kate De Lorme, which uses sound recordings from NASA for an auditory trip to the moon. Specifically intended for families and young children, De Lorme’s piece presents an opportunity to introduce spatial sound to a wider audience—and is a great example of the way Sound Space highlights multigenerational legacies.  

“That's something that we're very excited to bring together,” Voveris says. “There's been a lot of work to bring together the pioneers of these emerging practices—whether it's electronic music, techno, underground music and things like that, or something like environmental soundscape listening. 

“It's always really rewarding to see some of the founders and originators of these concepts and playing alongside people that are exploring really new and different ideas that are derived from that history.” 

Sound Space runs at Performance Works until December 18. Tickets are available here.