Raw Space: Tech-Pioneering Singer-Songwriter Beatie Wolfe Reinvents the Ceremony and Immersive World of the Album at Nokia Bell Labs

On May 5^th, the needle will drop in one of the most silent rooms on Earth. A record will play, streaming live in anechoic sound to anyone who logs in. Words, colors, and fantastic visions will leap from the grooves, as synched visuals create a 360˚ world of imagery to complement each song in full augmented reality.

This is Raw Space, the latest “world’s-first” album experience by British singer-songwriter and digital art-innovator Beatie Wolfe, in collaboration with interactive creative firm Design I/O and the world-renowned Nokia Bell Labs.

“For ‘Raw Space,’ I wanted to create the antithesis of our current streaming experience, which is somewhat compressed both sonically and creatively, or rather to create what I feel streaming music can be, and really celebrate the world of the album — its artwork, arc, narrative, music — in a fully immersive and multi-sensory way, which has the effect of placing the listener at the center of this dynamic world,” explains Wolfe. “Launching this out of one of the world’s quietest rooms has the effect of immediately instilling a sense of ceremony into this experience, both quieting the ‘noise’ around and allowing the listener to hear the true sound of sound.”

The 'Raw Space' experience will launch May 5, 2017 as a 24-hour, week long, 360˚ real-time streaming experience and as a series of live VIP Augmented Reality performances in the new performance space built around the Nokia Bell Labs' anechoic chamber. Its launch builds on 50-years of Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.) pioneered by Bell Labs together with collaborators such as John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol, and now including Beatie in this panoply of artists pushing the boundaries of physical and digital expression.

“We are delighted to be working with the remarkable Beatie Wolfe on her highly disruptive Raw Space album experience, which looks at the intersection of art and tech in a truly inspired way. As Bell Labs celebrates the next 50 years of E.A.T., I couldn't think of a better project or artistic collaborator to champion the next phase of this defining exploration of the human possibilities of technology,” said Marcus Weldon, President of Nokia Bell Labs and CTO of Nokia.

"Raw Space will bring into play a technological first, combining live, 360˚ stereoscopic video and real-time generative AR visuals to create a modern, Fantasia-like live streamed album experience that can be viewed on VR headsets, tablets, and smartphones," notes Theo Watson of award-winning technologists Design I/O, which has worked on interactive experiences at both the Tate and MOMA.

Raw Space Press preview (with live AR performance)

May 1st at 6pm EST
May 2nd at 3pm EST
May 2nd at 6pm EST

The Raw Space Album Experience launches live globally May 5th from www.beatiewolfe.com/360

For a private preview of the Raw Space album, visit: www.beatiewolfe.com/raw-space (password: 360)

Beatie Wolfe

A musical innovator as much as a musician, Beatie Wolfe is at the forefront of pioneering new formats for music, reuniting tangibility, storytelling & ceremony to the album in this digital age. In this vein, Wolfe has created a series of world’s-first designs that bridge the tangible and digital, including a 3D vinyl for the iPhone, an intelligent album deck of cards and a musical jacket - designed by the tailor who dressed Bowie, Jagger and Hendrix, and cut from fabric woven with Wolfe’s music. Beatie Wolfe’s work has been featured in the world’s leading museums, festivals, and received nominations across the music, tech and art fields. Wolfe is also the co-founder of a “profound” (The Times) new research project looking at the power of music for people living with dementia. www.beatiewolfe.com

Design I/O

Design I/O LLC is an award winning creative studio specializing in the design and development of cutting edge, immersive, interactive installations. Design I/O develops installations for events, galleries, museums, exhibitions and public space and specializes in creating engaging, meaningful interaction with the public. With more than 15 years’ experience in interactive media, Design I/O and its partners continue to push the boundaries of what is possible at the intersection of design and technology. design-io.com

Nokia Bell Labs

Nokia Bell Labs is the world-renowned industrial research arm of Nokia. Over its 90-year history, Bell Labs has invented many of the foundational technologies that underpin information and communications networks and all digital devices and systems. This research has resulted in 8 Nobel Prizes, two Turing Awards, three Japan Prizes, a plethora of National Medals of Science and Engineering, as well as an Oscar, two Grammy’s and an Emmy award for technical innovation. Nokia Bell Labs continues to conduct disruptive research focused on solving the challenges of the new digital era, defined by the contextual connection and interaction of everything and everyone, as described in the book, The Future X Network: A Bell Labs Perspective. www.bell-labs.com 

Nokia

Nokia is a global leader innovating the technologies at the heart of our connected world. Powered by the research and innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, we serve communications service providers, governments, large enterprises and consumers, with the industry's most complete, end-to-end portfolio of products, services and licensing. From the enabling infrastructure for 5G and the Internet of Things, to emerging applications in virtual reality and digital health, we are shaping the future of technology to transform the human experience. www.nokia.com