Amon Tobin "How Do You Live": Immersive Album Premiere in the Dark

L-Acoustics Creations, Pitchblack Playback, and Nomark Records give Amon Tobin aficionados a sensory immersive listening experience in London.

Amon Tobin’s life and work in production and sound design, spanning over 25 years, has set a high bar for sonic exploration and musical adventurism. The artist’s unique approach to intricate, cinematic electronica continues with the recent release of the How Do You Live on Nomark Records. To give listeners in London a special preview of the work, the label partnered with Pitchback Playback and L-Acoustics Creations to offer an immersive experience in a 24.1 immersive sound space designed by L-Acoustics, the world leader in premium sound systems for live events.

Pitchback Playback hosts listening sessions for music lovers staged in total darkness to eliminate distractions and ensure that everyone present enjoys an opportunity to fully engage with remarkable albums from start to finish. With the lights out and optionally blindfolded, the sense of hearing is heightened in the absence of visual stimuli. This allows guests to fully surrender to sound and the physical sensations and detailed nuances of music played aloud and lossless.

Part of this listening experience in the dark involves careful curation of environments. Pitchblack Playback found an ideal match in L-Acoustics Creations sound space in Highgate, London. The luxurious setting is equipped with 18 L-Acoustics Syva loudspeakers, frequently used in live music venues, at fashion shows, and in high-end nightclubs. The speakers hang on the walls in a 360° configuration allowing for a completely immersive listening experience, complemented by overhead pro audio speakers to create a full hemisphere of sound. The low frequency range is handled by a combination of Syva Low and Syva Sub, 23 in all, placed at floor level around the room to reinforce the visceral, haptic sensations of music.

Regarding this choice of venue, Ben Gomori, Director of Pitchblack Playback comments, “L-Acoustics Creations sound space is the ‘gold standard’ for us in terms of the quality of audio we are trying to provide. It’s the most powerful, detailed system we’ve had the pleasure of using at our events, and people are always blown away when they hear it in action at our sessions. When you listen to it with the lights out, it really takes it to another level.”

James Clayton, Label Manager of Nomark Records was a special guest at the Amon Tobin premiere. After listening to Tobin’s craft presented with pristine detail and precision, Clayton recalls, “One of my favourite quotes about Amon’s music describes his work ‘like a jeweler inspecting his gems through an eyepiece, before placing them back into the mix in just the right place to create a sonic experience of captivating abstracted beauty’. The experience of listening to How Do You Live at the Pitchblack Playback session held in the L-Acoustics Creations space in London confirmed this many times over.”