Adapting live loudspeaker array spatialisation methods for a site-specific live electronic music performance in physical, virtual and hybrid contexts

Nightports at Hull Minster is a musical project that harnesses spatialisation techniques to present music composed of the sounds of Hull Minster, UK, in both the location itself and alternative performance spaces, whilst still expressing the spatiality of the location. The project primarily involves a live electronic music performance by Nightports (The Leaf Label), using only sounds recorded in the Minster itself, spatialised in real-time by another performer across a 25-loudspeaker array. A scalable and adaptable approach was developed to realise three variant approaches: an acousmonium in-situ; a hybrid acousmonium and virtualmonium; and headphone-targeted virtualisations. To achieve virtualisation, ambisonic room impulse response measurements were taken across the diffusion array to capture the characteristics of the loudspeaker arrangement implemented in the Minster. A spatialisation system was devised to realise the different iterations and is detailed in this paper, alongside observations on the performative ramifications and potential developments of the project.