Seeing With Your Ears
Aural Spaces 2024
A radio play in 4DSOUND with live narration
Seeing with Your Ears is an immersive audio experience that explores the boundary between sound and vision. This radio play, performed live in 4DSOUND, was commissioned by and premiered at the Aural Spaces festival at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in 2024.
The title captures the core idea: in total darkness, with only sound as a guide, the imagination begins to see. This synesthetic effect is amplified by the multidimensional qualities of 4DSOUND, which envelops the audience in a vivid sonic landscape.
The piece was initiated in collaboration with Hannes Wallrafen—a photographer who lost his sight and reinvented himself as a sound artist. Created by and for blind and visually impaired audiences, the performance also invites sighted listeners to empathize and immerse themselves in a world where sound paints the picture.
The story follows Leroy de Böck as he travels through time and space, contemplating rising sea levels and envisioning a future where life floats atop the water. He explores the open fields before the Concertgebouw was built—birds chirp, horses trot, wind rushes. Then, the thuds and clangs of construction rise, resonating through the space. Gradually, music fills the building: fragments of rehearsals, a mysterious piano, mesmerising vocals, a swelling orchestra...
... A round of applause morphs into heavy rain. Then suddenly, Leroy takes flight—soaring above the Concertgebouw, and with him, the audience is lifted and transcends the actual space.
This is just one of many sequences. Over 45 minutes, listeners are guided through moments of reflection, bursts of intensity, serene stillness, abstract soundscapes, and emotionally rich musical passages.
Credits
Presented by: Aural Spaces & Concertvrienden
Concept: Hannes Wallrafen & Poul Holleman
Direction and Story: Sarah van Lamsweerde
Live Narration: Leroy de Böck
Spatial Sound Design: Lars Hogenboom
Duration: Approx. 45 minutes
Format: Live performance (also available as playback recording)
Photos: Sabine van Nistelrooij
The title captures the core idea: in total darkness, with only sound as a guide, the imagination begins to see. This synesthetic effect is amplified by the multidimensional qualities of 4DSOUND, which envelops the audience in a vivid sonic landscape.
The piece was initiated in collaboration with Hannes Wallrafen—a photographer who lost his sight and reinvented himself as a sound artist. Created by and for blind and visually impaired audiences, the performance also invites sighted listeners to empathize and immerse themselves in a world where sound paints the picture.
The story follows Leroy de Böck as he travels through time and space, contemplating rising sea levels and envisioning a future where life floats atop the water. He explores the open fields before the Concertgebouw was built—birds chirp, horses trot, wind rushes. Then, the thuds and clangs of construction rise, resonating through the space. Gradually, music fills the building: fragments of rehearsals, a mysterious piano, mesmerising vocals, a swelling orchestra...
... A round of applause morphs into heavy rain. Then suddenly, Leroy takes flight—soaring above the Concertgebouw, and with him, the audience is lifted and transcends the actual space.
This is just one of many sequences. Over 45 minutes, listeners are guided through moments of reflection, bursts of intensity, serene stillness, abstract soundscapes, and emotionally rich musical passages.
Credits
Presented by: Aural Spaces & Concertvrienden
Concept: Hannes Wallrafen & Poul Holleman
Direction and Story: Sarah van Lamsweerde
Live Narration: Leroy de Böck
Spatial Sound Design: Lars Hogenboom
Duration: Approx. 45 minutes
Format: Live performance (also available as playback recording)
Photos: Sabine van Nistelrooij