Immersive Audio

In general, immersive processes seek to offer broader sensory experiences and one of the most essential tools is the 360º spatial sound information. In the audio and music fields, this is an opportunity for artists and creatives to develop works where listeners can have an immersive sound spatial experience. Furthermore, this tool can enrich the productions with different spatial illusions, creating the illusion of being present in other places and creating other alternative worlds and/or sounds. I see great potential in this tool, so since 2014, I have been developing immersive audio and 3D sound projects in music production and sound installations. Below you will find some projects in which I have participated as a sound designer or director.

En pie-Audio 360, Lucho Hermida (2022). This is a 360 audio version of my song selected in the «Con la Lavadora a Fondo» project funded by the Colombian Radio and Television system.

Décimas às águas Mix, Urpi Barco & Lucho Hermida (2019). The project Urpi Barco & Lucho Hermida: Canciones con la orquesta universal was recorded outdoors, making binaural recordings of different soundscapes and the voices and instruments’ audio records in situ. This song is developed in three parts: the first one is dedicated to the rain (the binaural sound of the rain in the mountains of the Colombian Andes was recorded), the second is devoted to the river (binaural recording of the Magdalena River Strait in Colombia), and the third one is dedicated to the sea (binaural recording of the sea of Arraial d’Ajuda in Brazil). The voice and the viola caipira were recorded in block at San Agustín-Huila, one of Colombia’s most magical and historical places.

Tonada del viajero forzado Mix, Urpi Barco & Lucho Hermida (2019). Also included in the Urpi Barco & Lucho Hermida: Canciones con la orquesta universal album, Tonada del viajero forzado is part of a forced displacement trilogy I wrote. It seeks to represent the displaced people’s desolation of being taken away from their land and forced to walk through foreign places. Includes the binaural recording of Carrera 15 with Calle 85 in Bogotá-city.

Paisagens sonoras interativas: redescobrindo a rodoviaria de Brasilia (2014-2016). My first approach to immersive processes from binaural recordings began with my Master of Arts degree at the University of Brasilia. In addition to theorizing about perceptual processes, the world of sound, and the city’s affordance, this project included the development of three interactive sound installations. They show binaural recordings and interactive systems that offered another vision of Brasilia’s bus station soundscapes. «O coração da Rodoviária» was presented at the National Museum of Brazil in Brasilia as part of #13.ART (2014). While «Rodoviária ao Natural» was exposed at the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center as part of the Understanding Visual Music (UVM 2015).

Products derived from training processes

In the Optional III course I taught in the Sound Engineering program in 2021-2, the students developed a series of projects I directed. These products implemented immersive audio and 360 mixing. Below there is a selected sample of them.

Invasión, Laura Tatiana Uñate, Santiago Sánchez y Jorge Perea (2021). Here the students tell the story of an alien invasion.

Profesión bombero, Leyder Oyuela, Daniela Díaz y Pablo Ponce (2021). Conceived as a series of podcasts that show different professions, the students designed an immersive experience where they show the experience of a professional firefighter.