In a discussion regarding spacialisation with a friend, I was introduced to “Structure and Synthesis” by Mark Fell.

Once I had returned home, I immediately began reading through Fell’s half-workbook, half-manifesto online and was captivated by both his remarkably useful practical advice and his provocative criticisms of modern experimental practices – particularly (and here, most relevantly) his thoughts on surround sound systems.

Fell claims that spacialisation is ‘never about self loss (immersion)’ but rather a sense of the ‘lost self’ as the listener is sent on an endless search for a ‘sweet spot’ within the environment as they attempt to position themselves in response to sonic materials that never confidently fit into place.

Upon reading this, I felt myself re-evaluating my entire methodology regarding surround sound.

Beforehand, what I had considered my primary focus was to compose and spacialise with the sole intention of total listener immersion, to establish an atmosphere that one could slip into and exist in for a short duration – with my ‘ghost melody’ concept acting as a vehicle for the submergence into the sound world. nn

However, Fell’s notion of an ‘endless search’ felt like a more apt description of the description I had made in my original graphic score , half-perceived musicality that dissipates across the space, inviting the listener into ‘chasing’ the melodies.