Chambers of AWE's World Premiere

at DevCon4

Prague Congress Center - Czech Republic

Oct. 30 - Nov. 2, 2018

Devcon is the annual Ethereum conference for designers, developers, researchers and artists. The Ethereum Foundation hosts Devcon to educate and empower our community to build decentralized applications, and to bring Ethereum protocols, tools, and culture to the world. 

This is a conference for builders: designers, UX researchers, smart contract devs, blockchain researchers, client implementers, test engineers, infrastructure operators, community organizers, and even artists in the community. 

Behind the Scenes of Chambers Of AWE

An Interview with Laura Inserra during the world premier performed in Prague for DevCon4, the Ethereum Foundation's conference 2018.

Using Music & Cutting Edge Technology for

Immersive & Transformative Experiences

​

Chambers of AWE was premiered in 2018 in Prague during a large cryptocurrency conference, when Laura transformed for four days a forum hall into a decompression room, creating a sound and lighting reactive installation. Participants were entering an invisible but palpable 60 foot diameter sphere of sound created by an ambisonic system of 16 speakers and 4 subwoofers.

Laura and her live set was in the center of the sphere with 8 mics, each one connected to 2 speakers, plus 2 mics connected to the whole sound system. This allowed her to map and create live sound architectures in addition to her pre-recorded tracks.

The ongoing intertwined pre-recorded and live music created a striking immersive sound environment. In addition, she offered twice a day guided immersive sound experiences.

Lighting Concept

The Devcon4’s decompression room installation offered a calming atmosphere where a lush instrumental soundscape was augmented by a generative lighting experience. This room allowed guests to unplug (both metaphorically and literally), sit back, relax, and take time to breathe.

Thanks to the Aurora system by Limbic Media, Lightswitch’s lighting installation followed the music in a unique way, combining traditional lighting design artistry with the capabilities of AI.

A central LED candelabra reached from the ground, in varying lengths, towards the ceiling, where a web of LED festoons reached out across the room.

As Laura Inserra’s music evolved, the AI will mapped the different sounds throughout the installation creating a unique pattern every time, following her mood and sound. Her multi- instrumental approach to meditation allows for an ever evolving palette to choose from, making this a very dynamic and enchanting room.

A lighting designer was on site to carefully select attributes for the AI to feed from, and as the day progresses the colors shifted, the patterns changed. The environment reflected the very human side of tech, and the need to relax, regenerate, and decompress from the pressures of the world.

Our goal is not to light a room per se but to create an environment where Laura Inserra’s music can encompass a wide range of senses, enveloping the attendees with sound and light while they catch a breath, relax, and revitalize themselves in one of the most unique meditation experiences.