The research projects Sounding Influencer V.1-V.3 took place from 2019 to 2022. The central theme is the question of the artistic possibilities of moving, oscillating loudspeakers. In all variants, only sine tones were used as sound material.
In V.1, the kinetic sound sculpture ‘Sounding Influencer’ was built with 12 pendulums to which a loudspeaker is attached. An initial composition was created that investigated the acoustic and visual effects of various pendulum combinations. The movement of the loudspeaker on the pendulum leads to changes in amplitude and frequency shifts as well as to a dynamic interaction of the sounding tones with each other and with the room. The moving loudspeakers become an instrument (Färber and Pöpel 2021).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz5ECylsp_I
In V.2, six pendulums were used and a dancer was added who carried two loudspeakers in her hands and used her arms like pendulums. She increased the degree of freedom, which is one with the mechanical pendulums, and thus opened up the movement space in further directions. The dancer played in the area behind the pendulums and between them, reacting to them and imitating them.
https://www.zhdk.ch/forschungsprojekt/sounding-influencer-v-2-591166
In V.3.1, a frame construction was built for four pendulums so that they could work outside the laboratory. The dancer did not have any loudspeakers on her, but wore a movement sensor on her right thigh. This allowed her to influence the pitches of the four sine tones. The dancer played in front of and next to the pendulums, reacted to the pendulums and countered them with her own forms of movement in her choreography.
https://www.zhdk.ch/forschungsprojekt/sounding-influencer-v-3-591176
In V.3.2, two more frame constructions were built for four pendulums each. However, only two were used. For the performance, one was set up on the left and one on the right, enclosing the playing area. The dancer wore two movement sensors on her wrists with which she could influence the pitches of the sine tones of each group of pendulums. The dancer reacted to the pendulums, but also intervened in the pendulums by hand for the first time and stopped them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hqHLjJpRcY
Performances from V.1 to V.3.2 took place both at the ZHdK and in national and international formats (Pöpel 2022).
For the research project Sounding Influencer V.4: Human-Machine Interaction (MMI), the performer Angela Stöcklin joined as a permanent researcher in November 2022. Questions about the mutual influence/interaction of space, movement, body and sound are central to us.
https://www.zhdk.ch/forschungsprojekt/sounding-influencer-v-4-593461
https://medienarchiv.zhdk.ch/sets/soundinginfluencerv4mmi
At the ICMC 2024 in Seoul, the paper ‘Was It Really Just The Dress? Change of sound through movement. A comparison of subjective auditory perception and measurable acoustic phenomena with vibrating loudspeakers and a moving body’.
and the performance ‘RaumKlangKoerper (SpaceSpundBody)’ will be presented.
Sounding Influencer V.5 investigates the mutual influence of sound and movement. For this purpose, five listening tests are conducted in five acoustically distinct rooms, each with 15 participants. They sit at specific locations around the „Sounding Influencer.“ Out of 48 listening examples, 40 are conducted blind to assess the impact of visual perception on auditory perception and the spatial awareness of sound shifts from various listening positions
Sounding Influencer V.6 This study investigates the impact of movement on sound through the kinetic sound sculpture Sounding Influencer, in which loudspeakers are suspended at the ends of pendulums and set in motion by a dancer. These loudspeakers emit sine tones at varying frequencies. Current developments aim to expand their mobility and explore additional forms of movement beyond the pendulum mechanism.
The research focuses on how different types of movement — of the pendulums, the independent loudspeakers, and the dancer — as well as their spatial configurations influence acoustic phenomena, particularly variations in amplitude and frequency. The goal is to gain a deeper understanding of sound perception in interactive environments and to examine the relationship between bodily movement and auditory experience. This exploratory study reveals the growing complexity of such interactions and seeks to encourage further discussion on the potential of kinetic sound art in shaping perception.