New spaces / new places: a Sound House for the performance of electroacoustic music and sonic art

Abstract

The author has written articles and papers on the possibilities of differentiated spaces in the composition of electroacoustic music (Emmerson 1994, 1998). He extends this into a more practical discussion on the spaces used for the presentation of electroacoustic music (acousmatic music and ‘live electronic’ music), sound installations and other sonic art. The move into more informal ‘club’ environments is not without controversy. The ‘sampling’ approach to the very act of listening and ‘consuming’ sonic art has challenged traditional concert hall presentation. This paper brings various possibilities into plans (at once conceptual but also intended to have practical application) for a multi-space ‘Sound House’: a centre for the performance of the sonic arts. This centre is socially embedded within interpersonal human interaction and is not to be found in the current performance possibilities of the Internet – though it may be connected to others of its kind through this means.