In the sound installation pneumatic sound field, wind, pressure and sound create a »breathing« architecture from sound structures. Acoustic sound consists of pressure changes passing through the air, which has its own environmental pressure. Most loudspeakers use membranes to generate acoustic sound. Instead, in pneumatic sound field, air pressure is used to create sound. Valves modulate the air pressure, creating fluctuations in pressure in the surrounding air; because compressed air has a higher pressure than air around it, not only sound but also wind is generated. It can be thought of as wind that contains sound. pneumatic sound field consists of a latticework of 36 + 4 valves mounted over the heads of the audience in the garden of the Podewilsschen Palais. Sound and wind cross this field with differing speeds, directions, and intensities. Underlying the patterns are carry-overs of the actual behaviour of the wind. They are applied and combined so as to create different sequences, intensities and spatial interference. The audience is asked to find its own perspective on the spatial interaction of the air vibrations and the sound-generating valves, and the resulting composition.
pneumatic sound field was developed by Edwin van der Heide during a project residency at tesla-berlin e.v. and is being heard for the first time at sonambiente 2006.