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program
May
03

Open Haus
Spatial Improvisations
William Russell

Series

(Spatial Futures)
MONOM

Summary

Where

Reethaus

When

Sunday, May 03, 2026
14:00-20:00

What

Listening Experience

Tickets

€7.50

This event is sold out. However, we always reserve spots for our Friends of Reethaus annual pass holders, giving them year-round access to our monthly Open Haus events.

Reethaus presents a rare opportunity to witness the technology underlying spatial sound composition in action, with William Russell of MONOM transforming the listening room into a live sonic laboratory. A special edition during Gallery Weekend Berlin, this reconstruction of an open studio gives visitors the chance to look over the shoulder of one of spatial audio’s pioneers as he bends sound.

The 4DSOUND software used both at the Funkhaus studio and at Reethaus allows the movements of environmental forces such as wind, rain, cascading water or birdsong to be digitally modelled. These patterns, what Russell terms “spatial entities,” become receptacles into which music can be played to engineer its movement through the omnidirectional sound space afforded by the 16-channel design of Reethaus. The 4DSOUND interface will be observable on screen throughout Russell’s performances and their replays over Gallery Weekend.

At his workstation — arrayed with a piano, shakers, chimes, drums, singing bowls, and found objects as well as his digital studio  — Russell will perform spatial improvisations, duets between the physical instruments and the invisible digital entities that model the dynamic movements of natural phenomena. By extemporizing on two levels simultaneously, playing music and conducting the spatial entities through faders, Russell will offer visitors an insight into the process of spatial composition.

Join us this May for this illustration of spatial sound techniques.

Featured

William Russell

William Russell is spatial sound artist, creative director, founder and lead spatial sound designer of MONOM. Born in Australia, William Russell has emerged as an important figure in the realm of spatial sound design and performance. In 2017 he co-founded MONOM in Berlin, Germany, a studio, known for its residency and exhibition programme utilizing state-of-the-art 4DSOUND spatial sound technology. At MONOM William has collaborated with over 200 artists to produce new works utilizing the 4DSOUND system. As an artist, Russell’s focus is profoundly tied to the interplay between human experience and natural phenomena, using spatial sound to explore this relationship. Exploring this work, William has worked with institutions such as the New York Times Climate Hub, UCL Multimedia Anthropology Lab and the Barbican. His contributions extend to festivals and installations worldwide, showcasing his commitment to the development of new ways to express and experience sound and space.