MASE - Multi Angle Sound Engine

Undergo an unprecedented dance experience, with an all-new sound system: MASE.? Audiences are now ?literally- being offered an extra dimension. Until recently, sound was directed at any audience from a single position. Now, however, it is possible to surround a crowd with multi-channel audio. Muzieklab Brabant and dance pioneer Stefan Robbers proudly present the prototype of their Multi Angle Surround Engine, or MASE. This new system allows artists to determine spatial placement and movement of sound sources in real time.

Research
MASE was developed through interaction between an artistic team and a technical team consisting of scientists from Eindhoven?s Technical University and experts from the world of film and theatre. The research was especially aimed at determining the system?s artistic added value and gauging its possibilities for enhancing audience perception of sound. In the course of a year and a half, various interfaces were built and deconstructed. In a test setup, DJs could experiment for several months. The result: a multi-angle sound system, controlled by a unique, active interface. This offers dance-artists and DJs the possibility of manipulating sound source placement like nothing ever seen before.

Active Interface
The MASE interface offers DJs or producers eight independent audio inputs and a library of sound movements. The user has ample options for assigning a trajectory to an incoming audio signal and to start, stop or localise this. Specially designed software allows users to programme and store their own motion trajectories. The system is space-independent, users can input the dimensions and shape of a room and the number of speakers which are to be controlled.

Video

Stefan Robbers on Mase: How it works and what the idea behind it is..
Click here to watch the video.