A music format for domotic listening
Situated somewhere in between home stereo, installation, and club sound system, kbps offers an unusual way to listen to music at home. Whether we encounter it at a concert, during a party, etc. live music is never only sound. Instead, it is a sum of various sensations received through the stage lights, the people moving around us, the temperature slowly rising, and so on. Nevertheless, each and every music format trying to encapsulate music the most accurately focuses on the quality of sound itself, but never on what is going on when we listen to music in real life.
kbps is a music format for creating audio-domestic concerts. Instead of consisting of sound channels only, it also includes four other channels, controlling domestic appliances: desk lamps, aquarium lights, fans, blenders, or even radiators. Each of these objects works as a scenographic element to transform any home into a momentary concert venue, trying to make home listening a one-of-a-kind experience of light, sound, and even air.
In 2017, kbps was part of a collective exhibition during the Salone del Mobile in Milan. Some sketches of the collapsible structure i built for this exhibition.
Early working prototypes and assembly of the final prototype.
One of the softwares i have built for kbps. This one is the editor through which a regular music file is reworked to add four other tracks controlling power plugs. This patch then exports the transformed music into a file the kbps player can read.
Photos: Michel Giesbrecht, video: Vincent de Vevey.