dBs Productions create U+I immersive sound experience

In total, 90 participants were invented to explore the sonic history of an iconic Manchester city site. Armed with our custom-built smartphone application, developed in-house with Just Add Water, participants were taken on an audio tour like no other. Binaural sound events triggered by the participant location revealed the rich and iconic history of the locations past lives through binaural 360 degree sound recordings.

Guided by timed light events and the 360 sound, each participant was able to experience a variety of sonic histories; historical archive, DJ mix mashups, and actor based recreations of historic events. Each participant experienced a different selection of stories randomly selected via the app. Head of dBs Productions, Jay Auborn explained, "Our aim was to create a varied experience, whereupon each participant may enjoy a different perspective on the site's history. This varied experience created a discussion point and perhaps, an exchange of ideas about how future developments of the area might pay homage to the local community and sites rich history.

"As ever with the dBs Production projects, a team of our pre-graduate students were assembled to oversee the production of the works. From our Bristol based Sound for Game & Apps degree course, students Lillie Simpson and Seb Lee developed the app software and its interaction with the sound content. Student Giorgio Cortiana provided sound design and engineering expertise whilst student Peter Reddish created an original DJ mashup up to soundtrack one of the spaces on site. The script content was written by frequent dBs Musiccollaborator Saul Jeffe."