Katie BainWhat's made of 600 lights bulbs and music?
It's Light House, a new light and sound installation debuting this Thursday at music and technology art space Sonos Studio. Designed by New York City-based design firm Softlab, Light House is a high tech art project comprised of rows of tube lights hanging from the ceiling. These bulbs are connected to a laptop and programmed to react to various sounds. Basically, when music is played through the structure, the bulbs make a dazzling synesthesia-style spectacle.
It is, perhaps, the future of EDM stage production. Light House debuts on Thursday evening with a private performance by The Crystal Method. The electronic duo will play new music from their eponymous forthcoming album — through the installation. (The release on this album, the duo's fifth studio LP, was delayed because Crystal Method member Scott Kirkland had surgery for brain cancer this past May.) Sonos will host additional Light House collaborations from Washed Out and Bleached on July 29 and August 22, respectively.
A test run of Light House during the project's installation
“The idea is very simple,” says Sonos' Ivan Entchevitch. “It's essentially a way to show how sound fills a room through light.”
What's cool about this project is that you don't have to be a professional musician in order to play it. Regular folks are invited to stop by the space to tinker with Light House, which is rigged to a music catalog so people can step inside and see how the lights react to songs of their choosing. You can even get ambitious and play four songs at once, as Light House is connected to four speakers all controlling a different section of the lights. Most excellent!
The Light House installation process; Credit: Photo Courtesy of Sonos Studio
“I think it's going to be badass,” says Michael Szivos, the Founder of Softlab and principal designer of Light House. “It will be reacting to the music of each user, so it's always going to be custom to the person playing it.”
Light House will be open to the public starting next week on Wednesdays through Sundays, from 12-6pm. The project is on view through August 26, 2013.
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