A Review of Isle is Full of Noises

Professor Michael Century's The Isle is Full of Noises is an immersive, sound art installation that was showing in EMPAC from November 27, 2018 to November 29, 2018. Composed by Century, with the assistance of PhD student (Electronic Arts) Eric Miller, this environmental sound piece spatializes an 8 channel sound composition using Wave Field Synthesis speaker arrays. These eight channels have island sounds (birds, animals), spoken text of Shakespeare's The Tempest (voiced by local actors Kevin Craig West and Erica Tyron for the parts of Caliban and Miranda, respectively), and phonemic particles of language. Initial programming support for the composition was provided by former-MFA student Matt Wellins, and sound was recorded by Senem Pirler. 

This installation was in EMPAC Goodman Studio 1, which is a black box. When an audience member enters, they see some computer monitors across the room from them, being managed by the composer. To their right, they see eight spotlights, showcasing two bean bag chairs, two wheel-ed chairs, two regular chairs, and two empty spaces. Then, to the right of these spots, there is an array of Wave Field Synthesis speakers - this is where all of the sound comes from. The composer has eight channels with which they are able to work, as explained above. The composer can alter the volume, pitch, tempo, and other features of these eight channels as they please, and this is all done in real time as the audience explores the space. The audience members are encouraged to sit or stand under the eight spotlights, as those are where the sound is best heard. Because of the nature of Wave Field Synthesis, the sound moves from one side of the room to the other, and this can be experienced from any point in the room (though the eight focal points are well chosen and do make the experience more intense). 

Personally, I enjoyed the lines spoken by Caliban and Miranda. I've very glad that I had time before attending the installation to read up a little bit about The Tempest and these two characters, as that gave me a better understanding of the island atmosphere and the dialog that goes on between them. During the installation, these lines were broken up and distorted, and if I had not done any reading beforehand, I may not have been able to understand what the two characters were saying. As it was, I could really only understand some of the words, and I could pick up on the tone. The story told by the characters still came through very well, even though the content of their speech was not very clear. 

The use of Wave Field Synthesis speaker arrays was another part of the installation that I enjoyed. The sound traveled through the room - it went from one end to the other at a rate which the composer was able to increase or decrease to change the mood of the piece. This immersive sound experience made the space feel like a different environment than it really was - the island atmosphere really came across.