Ecclesia is the latest release of critically-acclaimed electronic musician (and SoundCloud CTO) Eric Wahlforss aka Forss. In collaboration with untouch.fm and austrian designer Leonhard Lass (part of depart.at) this audio-visual album was created.
The Ecclesia App combines the intriguing aspects of audio-reactive visual content and a strong atmospheric audio release within an emotional application. The deep and voluminous sound is visually transformed into an abstract meta-structure that might resemble an actual building / sculpture vaguely familiar and yet mystically strange. The idea of a cathedral as a physical architectural body is fragmented and invites the user to step inside and to explore the structure.
On May 2nd there was a big release party at the prestigious Berghain Club in Berlin, with live visuals presented on a custom-made altar-like projection surface, sounding super-crisp on their famous Funktion-One sound system.
Most of the application is purely generative (except for certain preexisting elements like some geometric models and basic timing). The visualization is generated based on audio analysis, MIDI-events, randomness and user interaction.
Live Performance at Berghain Berlin
Outline
| Client | Forss (Eric Wahlforss) |
|---|---|
| Production (App) | untouch.fm |
| untouch.fm | Visual concept, design, app development |
| Art direction | Marcel Schobel, Leonhard Lass |
| Lead Programmer | Claus Helfenschneider |
All image and video footage by courtesy of untouch.fm and forssmusic.com.
Available at
Selected Press
Mac Stories Evolver.fm Die Gestalten I-D Magazine Creative Review Wired.co.uk
My Role
I was the lead programmer on the iPad App; this means I did most of the programming on the App itself, a standalone executable for live visuals and an interactive installation. This was both a technical and creative challenge, as I was also involved in the design and aesthetics of the visualization. Some of the tracks, like track #8 (Somnium) or track #10 (Lux Aeterna) arose from just a raw visual idea (from Art Directors Lass and Schobel) and evolved along the way during the programming process in order to finally gain a very distinct and peculiar look and feel.
Attribution
This project was commissioned to m box Bewegtbild GmbH. For more information on m box and the project, please navigate to the website of m box.