moonmoons AR is a collaboration between composer Anna Meredith and designer Arthur Carabott. The app uses Augmented Reality and Spatial Audio to allow listeners an in-depth exploration of Anna Merediths new piece "moonmoons".
Expanding on the visceral landscape of Meredith’s compositions, the app embellishes the listeners sonic experience by placing six virtual speakers (in the form of the otherworldly hand-made ceramic objects from the albums artwork, made by Anna’s sister Eleanor Meredith) around their environment, allowing them to experience the piece as if surrounded by the musical building blocks of the track.
Just as in the real world, the closer the listener is to an object (which represents a specific instrument / stem from the track), the louder it is - allowing for moonmoons to be absorbed intimately and for the listener to craft their own personal aural experience.
As Meredith explains, "moonmoons are the moons of moons, and this idea of intergalactic worlds within worlds and of doubling and playing with scale, of zooming in and out is explored right through the piece, down to the cascading climactic slowing down textures which are actually constructed using the rest of the electronics compressed into 2 second gestures." Carabott adds “Augmented Reality and Spatial audio enable a way of exploring the details of a piece of music that is very natural, and allow the listener to play an active role in their own experience of a piece”.
The track itself is in distinct layers focussing on cellist Maddie Cutter’s beautiful playing interlaced with ripples of arpeggiated synths, unearthly swooping and atmospheric non-pitched sounds, and low percussive power played on a thundersheet by drummer and percussionist Sam Wilson. After the initial softly shaped arch section, the piece darkens, gathering momentum and power as it builds towards a compelling peak where huge cascading stabs cut through the texture before coming back down to earth.