After the (international) success of Bedtime Stories, URLAND now presents the latest solo by master storyteller Thomas Dudkiewicz: The Last Chapters. Just like in Bedtime Stories, the immersive surround soundscape plays a major role.

In this unique format, the audience, equipped with headphones, is immersed in a fantastical story that unfolds entirely through sound and feels hyper-realistic. This time, Dudkiewicz uses a binaural sound system. Working with sound designer Tomas Loos, who controls the audio live, he explores a new way to evoke countless worlds and bring the ultimate story to life.

An immersive sound system with binaural audio?

Also known as three-dimensional audio, binaural audio sounds as if it’s coming from all around you, just as your own ears perceive it. This audio is recorded using a binaural microphone with silicone imitation ears. Because of their shape (ears), they capture sound with the same filtering our own ears would perceive. This is then played back through headphones, allowing your mind to perceive it as if it’s truly moving and happening around you.

There’s more!

The entire three-dimensional soundscapes in The Last Chapters are created and controlled live by sound designer Tomas Loos. Using self-designed apps (developed in Ableton with Max for Live), he can make every sound three-dimensional and have it move around you, from “ordinary” sounds in a cat café to the voice of performer Thomas, who alone on stage embodies multiple people and animals and can even appear to be in several places simultaneously.

Together with scenographer Hendrik Walther, Tomas Loos has developed an advanced system that links Ableton, Chataigne (show control software), and the clicker in Thomas’s hand on stage to create a chain of signals and sounds. These are activated and recorded from various spots in the space simultaneously, and Tomas Loos (yes, live) shapes them into a cohesive three-dimensional sound world in the headphones on your head, with the light show also controlled by the sound system Ableton.

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