SOUND OF STORY is an artistic research cluster that combines the new 3D-Audio creation FORCE IS PRESENT with micro-studies to investigate the interactions between perception and narration in immersive 3D audio soundscapes. The project aims to develop new performance formats through Environmental Storytelling and novel roles for audiences, challenging conventional modes of listening and engagement (Radical Listening). By integrating artistic practice and artistic research, SOUND OF STORY seeks to deepen understanding of how spatialized sound can influence cognition, emotion, and social perception.
Artistic Work: FORCE IS PRESENT
A sonic performance and audiovisual experiment that intertwines technology, social fragility, and an acoustics of power and vulnerability. FORCE IS PRESENT challenges perception by creating an experience through 3D audio and environmental storytelling, inviting audiences into an act of radical listening. The work explores the mechanisms of violence in two situations—through the body’s absence and presence. On stage, no traditional instrument is played: a pianist generates sound solely through the force of gestures, acting independently of the instrument. Specially developed distance-MIDI controllers trigger sound via light barriers, creating a physical momentum and a narrative in which music becomes an invisible force. The performance questions whether music and concert experiences can become spaces for understanding the dynamics of power and violence, and how spatialized oscillations and rhythms can destabilize inner order. FORCE IS PRESENT is more than a concert: it is a cultural and perceptual device that interrogates how technology and society reshape the capacity to experience, understand, and coexist within complex systems of power.An Uaimh Bhinn is a collaborative artistic installation exploring new models for ephemeral music spaces through the intersection of music composition and architectural design, and spatial audio programming. Created with architectural firm Temporary Pleasure, this project addresses the lack of dedicated music venues in urban environments by developing resilient and contemporary approaches to space design.
Collaborations
Artistic Collaborations:
– Brigitta Muntendorf, Artistic direction / Composition
– Lukas Nowok, programming
– Zubin Kanga, piano performer
– Lena Weckerling, light
– Banu Sahin, 3D-Audio Operator
Partner:
– d&b audiotechnik GmbH
– Vienna Festival (performance 05/2026)
Interviews, Dialogue-Partners:
– Beatrice de Gelder, Brain and Emotion Laboratory / Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University
– Antonio Camurri, Casa Paganini Research Centre, UNIGE
– Prof. Dr. Stefan Malthaner, Hamburger Institut für Sozialforschung – Ralf Zuleeg, d&b Audio GmbH
Design Methods & Frameworks
In Brigitta Muntendorf’s 3D Audio work FORCE IS PRESENT, the central objective was to enable the pianist to generate piano sounds without the physical instrument, relying exclusively on the kinetic force and precision of pianistic playing gestures. The system was designed to fulfill the following criteria:
a. gesture-to-sound triggering without perceptible latency and with high musical accuracy,
b.purely gestural interaction, without auxiliary devices such as controllers,
c. low-cost and reproducible construction, and
d. applicability within standard stage environments, without the need for specialized technical infrastructure.
To meet these requirements, optical Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors were employed. These sensors were embedded via 3D printing into a custom-designed mount, which can be affixed to a conventional microphone stand and incorporates an integrated USB interface for direct connectivity. The hardware and software were developed to ensure robust performance in live concert contexts.
Distance Midi Controller in concert
Distance Midi Controller
Comprehensive documentation, including construction details and control specifications of the Distance MIDI Controller on GitHub.
Artistic Direction: Brigitta Muntendorf
Programming and Technical Development: Lukas Nowok
Rehearsal with the Distance-Midi-Controller.
Ensemble: Ensemble Offspring Performer: Zubin Kanga
Alongside the artistic work, SOUND OF STORY explored spatial phenomena through a series of artistic experiments, such as spatial polyrhythms and pitch trajectories. These experiments were first conducted directly with a 3D audio system, testing how complex spatialized sound could affect perception and bodily experience. Researchers noticed sensations of dizziness and physical discomfort when confronted with highly intricate spatial information. In a final phase, these experiences were reflected and confirmed through collaborative sessions with students, who reported similar perceptual and bodily responses. These experiments highlight how immersive spatial sound can shape both bodily and cognitive experience, and inform the design of new auditory performance formats.
3D-Audio Lab “Spatial Spheres” / Darmstädter Ferienkurse 2025 (Video of students)
3D-Audio Hall: Try-outs at Sonnenraum Berlin, d&b Showing room
Lessons learned:
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Artistic, Social, Technological, and Research-based Contributions:
As a combination of the audio-visual performance FORCE IS PRESENT and artistic micro-studies, SOUND OF STORY investigates the interaction between perception and narration in immersive 3D audio environments through the concepts of Environmental Storytelling and Radical Listening. FORCE IS PRESENT seeks to transform the concert into a cultural and perceptual device, examining how technology and society alter the capacity to experience, comprehend, and navigate complex systems of power. From a technological perspective, the project examines how varying spatializations of sound shape perceptual experience.
Artistic, Social, Technological, and Urban Benefits:
FORCE IS PRESENT introduces innovation in 3D audio by linking movement, space, and sound in real time, creating new performance formats and immersive experiences for audiences. It expands performance practice by making the pianist’s physical energy and gestures immediately audible, redefining concepts of presence and musical expression. Technologically, it presents a flexible, low-latency Distance MIDI Controller that operates without additional hardware or complex setups, and its open-source design allows other artists and researchers to reproduce, adapt, and further develop the system. Socio-culturally, the project fosters interdisciplinary work at the intersection of music, technology, and performance art.An Uaimh Bhinn addresses urban cultural infrastructure gaps through innovative adaptable solutions to creating venues for various and diverse music experiences. Artistically, it demonstrates how collaboration between music composition, sound engineering, sonic arts and architecture can create novel formats and redefine what is required of and possible in the creation of spatial experience. Socially, the project engages various communities through flexible programming that accommodates diverse artistic manifestations within a space. Technologically, it advances spatial audio integration with ephemeral and adaptable architecture, proving that sophisticated audio environments can be rapidly constructed and re-installed.
Adaptability / interoperability:
The Distance MIDI Controller developed for FORCE IS PRESENT was designed to be highly flexible. Its mount is compatible with standard microphone stands, allowing easy integration into conventional stage setups. Both the hardware and software are shared as open-source, with detailed instructions for assembly and operation. This enables the sensor-based, contact-free trigger system to be easily reproduced and deployed in a variety of performance contexts. The 3D audio environment was developed using d&b Soundscape, but it can be adapted to any spatialization system.
Impact
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Repositories