Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts

Jamoma is an open-source (GNU LGPL) software development platform for interactive research and artistic practice, co-developed by an international team of researchers, developers, artists, composers and musicians. The presentation will give a brief introduction to Jamoma Modular, a framework for structured development and control of modules in the graphical media environment Max/MSP/Jitter.

Spatial sound is a core interest to several of the developers. A stratified approach to spatialisation and the development of Spatial Sound Description Interchange Format (SpatDIF) encourage interoperability and flexibility between modules, and Jamoma supports a number of advanced algoritms for spatialisation, including Vector-Based Amplitude Panning (VBAP), first and higher-order ambisonics, as well as novel spatialisation methods Virtual Microphone Control (ViMiC) and Distance-Based Amplitude Panning (DBAP).

Most common techniques for spatialization require the listener to be positioned at a “sweet spot” surrounded by loudspeakers. For practical concert, stage, and installation applications such layouts may not be practical or desirable. DBAP offers an alternative panning-based spatialization method where no assumptions are made concerning the layout of the speaker array nor the position of the listener.

The basic principles underlying DBAP will be presented, as well as extensions to the algorithm for added flexibility and artistic expressive possibilities. Visual and interactive interfaces for DBAP will be demonstrated, and the presentation will conclude with examples of DBAP and Jamoma used in sound installations as well as musical performance and the performing arts.

January 25th at 20:00 Pascal Baltazar, Bjørnar Habbestad and Benjamin Maumus will be giving a work-in-progress performance at Kings Place in London of “Unruhigen Räume”, a new work commissioned by BEK and GMEA for 3 computer instrumentalists using a 16 sources/12 speakers DBAP system with live spatialization. The performance is part of a concert presented by the Bergen contemporary music festival Borealis:

http://www.kingsplace.co.uk/music/out-hear/borealis

Trond Lossius is an sound and installation artist based in Bergen, Norway. He is art director at BEK – Bergen Center for Electronic Arts and associate professor at Bergen National Academy of the Arts.

Pascal Baltazar is a composer and intermedia artist based in Albi, France. He is Research Manager at GMEA Centre National de Création Musicale d’Albi-Tarn, and coordinates the Virage Platform research project, funded by the The French National Research Agency.

http://www.jamoma.org/
http://www.spatdif.org/
http://www.trondlossius.no/
http://www.zkrx.org/