WORK TO DATE
BACKGROUND
TRANS VOICES is part of the LONDON CONTEMPORARY VOICES family. It is the UK’s only professional choir for trans+ people.
ILĀ has been working with Trans Voices to blend meditative soundscapes, choral tradition, emerging technology, and bold vocal experimentation to reclaim spaces where trans perspectives are rarely heard.
PROOF OF CONCEPT: UN/BOUND
An immersive sound installation shaped by quantum technology and artificial intelligence that asks what is sacrificed and what is reclaimed in the pursuit of liberation and self-determination.
ILA worked with Trans Voices and Moth (quantum computing) to develop & test the new AI technology.
The first collaborative piece using the technology was commissioned.
The work was presented as an interactive audio installation for The Barbican Centre's Feel The Sound immersive exhibition, May-Aug 2025.
MONOM, a Berlin-based studio specialising in spatial sound worked with the team to create the sound immersive audio environment.
The installation utilised holographic spatial audio technology, allowing voices to blend, shift, and resonate from various locations as visitors navigate the space.
The Financial Times called UN/BOUND a “standout” among immersive works in the exhibition, praising its ability to let visitors “melt into a greater harmony.”
Aesthetica Magazine described it as a collective choral experience centered on active listening.
FAD Magazine framed it as a commissioned exploration of belonging and resonance.
EXPANDING THE WORK:
UN/VEILED WITH LONDON CONTEMPORARY VOICES + TRANS VOICES
A MAJOR PROJECT FOR LCV’s 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
HOW THE AUDIO TECHNOLOGY WORKS
1) A choral composition is created collaboratively and recorded. It is then divided into segments. Moth’s Archeo system is trained on it.
2) This system can then continuously live generate an ever evolving piece based on that composition - by reconfiguring the recorded segments of choral composition recording in real time.
3) The same recordings are used to train tone transfer models (Neutone).
4) When visitors interact with mics in the exhibition space, the mics transform their voices into the choirs’ voice/s. In real time using Ableton, AI tone-transfer and auto-tuning systems weave these inputs seamlessly into the choral soundscape, allowing every participant to become part of the “choir” and reshape the piece uniquely during their visit. Interaction also reveals hidden layers of the composition, such as triggering specialist voices, adding depth and surprise to the experience.
5) The Ambisonics sound system inside the exhibition space creates an immersive 3D spatial sound experience, allowing voices to blend, shift, and resonate from various locations as visitors navigate the space.
6) A new visual element, mapped to a 360 domed space, will be controlled by a) A MIDI feed from Archaeo and b) Mic inputs placed around the exhibition space which visitors can speak, sing or hum into.
THE PROJECT IS AN EXPANSION AS FOLLOWS:
1. NEW VOCAL INPUTS FROM WIDER RANGE OF VOICES
The technology will be applied to a larger diverse group of singers from LCV’s membership of 200 musicians. The project will include people from a range of backgrounds, with an emphasis on those underrepresented in the music industry.
Singers come from different vocal traditions spanning classical, folk, jazz, pop, soul, gospel, beatboxing & more.
2. SOUND REACTIVE VISUALS BY JAMES GM
Sound reactive 360 visuals will be created and incorporated. The will respond to the audio inputs.
JAMES GM’s practice bridges electronic visuals and computational methods, further enriching the dialogue between sound, space and voice.
James is a specialist in Touch Designer, a real-time, node-based visual programming environment and platform for creating interactive multimedia projects. He regularly works with a wide range of artists and lectures at UAL.
3. INSTALLATION - A NEW GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION FOR LCV
After extensive research we have identified THE REAL IMMSERSIVE DOME IN PLYMOUTH MARKET HALL, run by Real Ideas, as the preferred location to present the new work. Working in Plymouth for the first time will expand our reach.
The venue has been checked for suitability and wishes to host the project. A truly immersive environment can be created with 360 visuals and an Ambisonics sound system, which enables full spatial audio.
Once developed, the work can be toured to numerous locations, utilising LCV’s extensive network.
We have additional interest from CULTVR in Cardiff and Thinktank Planetarium in Birmingham, should Immersive Arts prefer us to work in a different location for the project. These locations offer potential for legacy activities, including interest from Birmingham Museums to present the work as part of their public programme.
