Spatialization as both a technique and a technology has been used in the arts and media for many decades. There are a number of technologies to help us achieve the sensations of three dimensional audio, and a broad range of techniques with which precise audio spatialization can be achieved. Yet, in my experice, the results are often quite unsatisfying. With a large array of speakers the sensation can still be impressive, but may lack the dynamics of world spatiality. It also comes with great political implications and may be seen as an excluding construction for rendering electroacoustic music; its potential social dominance should be considered.

Although there is a great amount of knowledge in the commercial media industry of how to create a sonic space, but in terms of resources the multimedia industry has won the battle here. Not even academia can compete in terms of technology development. In the practice of field recordings there is a slightly different, but equally impressive knowledge about how to record and portray spatial sound. In my own work, however, I have felt a growing frustration that is connected to my inability to use the methods of these and other practices and apply them to my compositional practice. Is there a knowledge gap somewhere in the continuity between accuracy, reproduction, meaning and spatial gestalt in sound art?

To approach this frustration I have worked together with my colleague Jan Schacher for a few years in trying to better understand what spatial listening may constitute. By engaging ourselves, students, and fellow artists in what may be best described as deep spatial listening exercises. Through these we have tried to expand our spatial sensibility, on the one hand, and our ability to conceptualize it on the other. Going on listening excursions and discussing our experiences we have documented the results in various ways, employing qualitative and experimental methods on the results.

A brief summary of our experiences is that the basic method of listening excursions is effective at large and the first general chat (on site) about what was heard is also quite effective. However, which should come as no surprise, the conceptualization phase is much more difficult.