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Amon Tobin’s ISAM Tour Visuals Take A New Approach To Merging Sound And Stage Design

by Erica Gonsales June 06, 2011

No wonder Rio de Janeiro artist Amon Tobin is known as a “scientist of sound.” His music is the result of unwearying sound experiments since the 90s, when he released his first album, Adventures in Foam, under the name Cujo.

After receiving recognition for playing jazz and hip-hop inspired drum ‘n’ bass and twelve (yes, twelve) albums later, he’s considered to be one of the most influential electronic music artists in the world.

In order to produce his new album, Tobin transformed sounds and noises from real life—like a creaky chair or puffs of air—to create sounds that are rooted in the mundane but then rendered unrecognizable after being “treated” by the producer.

Just to get an idea: for the newly released ISAM, Tobin recorded samples in their original form and then modified and “constructed” them with the help of a Haken Continuum—a series of sensors covered by a single basis of neoprene that responds to finger pressure in three dimensions. You can check out the process in the video below:

But the project goes far beyond the album itself, unfolding into visual interpretations of the ISAM concept, which mixes the genres of psychedelia and science fiction for the album’s tour visuals. The DJ asked V Squared Labs, the guys responsible for the visual stage design for artists such as 50 Cent, The Police and Coldplay, to develop a mega structure with 3D effects specifically for ISAM performances.

Dozens of white cubes and rectangles form the base for projection mapping that uses animation techniques and video game elements to augment the structure. You can see a preview of the installation below:

Amon Tobin ‘ISAM’ Live : Mutek Premiere:

Support Amon Tobin by going to his gigs or buy his cd’s: