Experimental Sound Design for Wave Field Synthesis: Employing Low-Quality Voice Recordings into Spatial Audio for Art Installation

This paper explores the intersection between high-end technology for immersive media and conceptual sound installations using low-quality audios. It discusses the concept of fidelity in sound reproduction and traces how this concept relates to the subject of identity and self through the recorded voice. I analyse art projects that use low-quality audio to address issues of self and how these projects can help presenting an alternative understanding of experimental sound design for spatial audio. Finally, I explore the issue through my own artistic research called This Alienness and Me, where I investigate the feeling of “not belonging” through personal voice recordings made with a cellphone. In my project the audios were juxtaposed using Wave Field Synthesis to create an immersive environment.