Binaural production - listen with headphones!

Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Krems, Horn and Gars/Kamp between August 31st and September 1st, 2024. Dedicated to my friend Gerhard Eckel:

    1) At the Taffa creek near Horn
    2) Gerhard Eckel and Jack Hauser performing under a resonant bridge
    3) A train ride along the river Kamp
    4) Sound from MONOCOLOR's audio-visual installation SCREEN—SPACE at the NÖ Landesgalerie Krems        

Released: Sep 2nd, 2024
https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

H.E.A.D.

G.U.R.X.

Info

G.U.R.X. (Gerhard's Unique Resonating Xylophone) - BINAURAL

Binaural production - listen with headphones!
In tempore belli...

Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Mantua, Italy between September 10-14, 2024:
    1) A walk through the historical center of Mantua
    2) A gelataria with the best ice cream in town
    3) Inside the Basilica di Sant'Andrea
    4) A rehearsal of the ensemble "nova ars cantandi" in the Basilica Palatina di Santa Barbara, singing "Dona Nobis Pacem" from an unknown mass by Antonio Nola (1642-1715).
Released: Sep 23rd, 2024
Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

M.A.N.T.

M.A.N.T. (Most Answers Never Translate) - BINAURAL

Generative sound environment for an art installation by Beat Zoder, written in MaxMSP. 6-channel live performance with Max9 at Studio kHz on 12 Dec 2024. Binaural rendering with REAPER and dearVR. Listen with headphones! https://essl.at/works/hirsch-roehren.html

In 2006, Swiss artist Beat Zoderer and Austrian composer Karlheinz Essl were commissioned to create a collaborative work for the music festival Stanser Musiktage. In an abandoned repository situated in the heart of the Swiss alps, both artists were setting up a room installation made of sewer pipes. Those plastic parts of different lengths were equipped with funnel speakers driven by a customized computer program written in MaxMSP by Karlheinz Essl. Utilizing realtime composition algorithms which the composers develops since 1985, his software created an ever-changing sonic environment which never repeated itself.

Seen from outside, the structure resembled a giant jackstraw heap which invited the public to explore the space. Sounds that were projected from the loudspeakers through the pipes commuted through the air, creating a mysterious atmosphere as if some hidden creatures were talking to each other in an incomprehensible, yet compelling language.

Von Hirschen und Röhren

Von Hirschen und Röhren (2024) - BINAURAL

V.A.N.N.

V.A.N.N. (Viewing A Nasty Neigbourhood) - BINAURAL

Binaural production - listen with headphones!
Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Rome, Italy between November 29-30, 2024:
1) A street demonstration during the general strike
2) At the bar of a popular café near S. Maria Maggiore
3) In the archives of the Isabella Scelsi Foundation
4) A nun decorating the altar of the Basilica Quattro Coronati
Released: 14 Dec 2024

R.O.M.A.

R.O.M.A. (Remnants Of Mysterious Activities) - BINAURAL

Binaural production - listen with headphones!
Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded at the Conservatorio di Milano on May 27th, 2025:
1) Inside the conservatory yard
2) Walking through the conservatory
3) In the cafeteria of the conservatory
4) On the roof terrace of Babila Hostel, next to the conservatory
Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

C.O.N.S. (Come On, Nice Stud!) - BINAURAL

Binaural production - listen with headphones! A generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes, which were recorded in Pécs, Hungary, between 27 and 28 June 2025:
1) A performance on a broken electronic organ in Toplje Church.
2) Walking through Pécs city centre at noon.
3) A restaurant with a nice view of Pécs at night.
4) A bottle return machine at a supermarket in Pécs.

P.E.C.S.

P.E.C.S. (Precious Energy Creates Sound) - BINAURAL

I spent the last weeks in Apulia, a beautiful landscape in Southern Italy, charged with history and stories. The symbol of this region is the Pumo - a traditional ceramic figurine which depicts a stylized flower bud. This gave the title of a new piece for my H.E.A.D. cycle: a immersive sound portrait of this landscape. When listening, you will visit a street market in Ostuni, witness a procession with a marching band in Cisternino, hearing the organ of the Basilica of Lecce and some school girls in the historic center of Grottaglie. Put on your headphones and dive in!

A generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes, which were recorded in Apulia (Italy), in September and October 2025.
1) A procession of a marching band in Cisternino.
2) Schoolgirls in the historic centre of Grottaglie.
3) An organ rehearsal in Lecce's Basilica.
4) A street market in Ostuni.

P.U.M.O. (Power Up My Organ) - BINAURAL

Binaural production - listen with headphones!
Mixed impressions of Dortmund, an industrial town in the German Ruhr area where a ten-hour concert took place at the Petrikirche. While Wolfgang Kogert was rehearsing my organ piece, 'Partikel-Bewegung', the city was celebrating Halloween.

A generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes, which were recorded in Dortmund (Germany) on 31 Oct and 1 Nov 2025.
Released: 7 Nov 2025

1) Wolfgang Kogert rehearses my organ piece, "Partikel-Bewegungen," at Saint Petri Church.
2) The minutes before Mass starts at the Probstei Church with the evening bells.
3) A Christmas market in the town center.
4) Midnight in the pedestrian zone on Halloween Eve


D.O.R.T. (Demanding Organist Requires Tension) - BINAURAL

Binaural production - listen with headphones for full immersion!

I embarked on a dreamlike journey through Cologne when I visited the Museum Ludwig that presented collaborative works by John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, Cy Twombly and Robert Rauschenberg. An interactive installation by the latter encouraged visitors to engage in unusual activities such as clapping, shouting, singing and whistling. Occasionally, you would also hear the gentle voice of John Cage. Afterwards, I immersed myself in the cathedral, which resonated with the sounds of its visitors.

A generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes, which were recorded in Cologne (Germany) on 2 Nov 2025.
Released: 10 Nov 2025

1) The gallery rooms at the Museum Ludwig, which feature videos of John Cage and Merce Cunningham.
2) An interactive installation by Robert Rauschenberg that responds to visitors' sounds.
3) Inside Cologne Cathedral.
4) The cathedral's crypt.

K.Ö.L.N. (Karneval Öffnet Lustige Narren) - BINAURAL

Born 1960 in Vienna. Austrian composer, improviser and performer. He studied composition with Friedrich Cerha and musicology in Vienna. Besides writing experimental instrumental music, he performs on his own electronic instrument m@ze°2, develops software environments for computer-aided composition and creates generative sound and video environments. Since 2007 professor of composition for electro-acoustic and experimental music at the University of Music in Vienna.

Karlheinz Essl performs on a laptop computer that he has transformed into a live electronic musical instrument. The result is exciting and musical. You just won't hear these sounds anywhere else. He performs solo and in duets and trios, responding with sensitivity to fellow musicians, producing fascinating sound transformations, creating spontaneous surprises, and moving quickly from loops to cacophony to tiny clips of vocal sounds to all kinds of textures and ideas. He does all this with his m@ze°2(Modular Algorithmic Zound Environment) performance software. (Joel Chadabe, CDeMusic, Januar 2002)


New tracks tagged #Kunstkopf