Roland Soundscapes

To coincide with the opening of Roland Corporation’s new headquarters, Roland Inspiration Hub, we were responsible for the system design and development of “Roland Soundscapes,” an immersive sound installation that embodies the company’s latest concept.

In this project, we built an audio system in which music continuously evolves in response to environmental factors such as weather conditions, time of day, and human movement, all processed in real time. Rather than just playing pre-composed tracks, the installation aims to create a spatial sound experience where the music itself constantly shifts and transforms in dialogue with its surroundings.

The music was created in collaboration with artist Sakura Tsuruta. Based on four musical sets composed by Sakura - composed of 20 total tracks featuring different moods and instrumentations. The system adapts these tracks to allow free transitions across keys, modes, and tempos, all dynamically controlled by external inputs such as weather, time, and human activity.

An eight-speaker system enables sounds to move fluidly through the space, fading in and out to create an installation experience that is never the same twice. In addition, the system incorporates a daily generative performance: using Sakura’s solo piano recordings as training data, the system generates a 30-minute improvised piano performance every day from 3:00 PM, ensuring a unique sonic expression with each iteration.

System

System diagram

The sound system for this project is not designed to switch between fixed, pre-recorded compositions. Instead, it is structured to decompose musical elements—such as key, mode, tempo, and spatial placement—and continuously recombine them in real time.

Each piece is transformed into a generative structure with defined constraints, allowing the music to evolve gradually in response to external inputs such as weather data, time of day, and human movement. These changes are not random; they are governed by statistical rules that maintain musical coherence while producing constantly shifting outcomes.

Sound Samples

Interaction and Environmental Data

Visitor behavior and external environmental information directly influence the musical changes. Sensors installed within the space detect the position and movement of visitors, which are reflected in the spatial positioning of specific sounds. In addition, environmental factors such as weather conditions and time of day affect the overall resonance and atmosphere of the music, introducing shifts in musical modes, tempo and progression.

These inputs are designed not only to respond immediately, but also to exert gradual influence over time. As changes in human presence and environmental conditions accumulate, they are integrated into the evolving state of the music, creating a sustained and reciprocal relationship between the exhibition space and the sound.

Spatial Audio

Sound is distributed throughout the space via an eight-speaker system, with each sound source moving slowly over time rather than remaining fixed at a single position. Multiple sounds emerge from different locations, overlapping and fading in and out, allowing the entire space to function as a single, unified performance environment.

At times, the position of the sound shifts in response to the position of visitors, and the music is experienced not so much as something to be listened to, but as something that emerges and spreads throughout the space. As a result, the auditory experience changes depending on where visitors stand and how they move, making the spatial environment an integral part of the musical expression.

Link

- Roland’s New Global Headquarters: Inside the Inspiration Hub

Client

Roland Corporation

Credits

Project Leader: Tom Baker (Qosmo) Musical Composition: Sakura Tsuruta Artist Support: Yuta Shimizu (Elid) Engineer: Tom Baker (Qosmo) Technical Support: Naotake Masuda (Qosmo), Bogdan Teleaga(Qosmo) Technical and Artistic Supervision: Nao Tokui (Qosmo)