London-based electronic musician and AV artist Halina Rice, who is renowned for utilising cutting-edge technology in her music and live performances, has made her debut in the metaverse utilising Bristol’s Condense, the world’s first company to stream live events into the metaverse.
The audio was provided by L-Acoustics, creator of L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology. Rice appeared as a 3D hologram, viewable in 360°, utilising L-Acoustic’s spatial audio in Condense’s virtual The Blueprint venue.
The performance was live-streamed and presented in 3D, a concoction of mixed reality visuals, a binaural mix using the L-ISA spatial audio and Rice’s unique electronic music.
Rice has performed using spatial audio and has a longstanding relationship with L-Acoustics, in keeping with her IDM-style music. They have worked together closely to bring spatial audio performances to multiple venues including Abbey Road Studios, Iklectik Artlab, Startbahn Berlin and EartH, Hackney.
The metaverse event was free, and those joining were able to choose and/or customise their own avatar and take part in The Blueprint using their mouse and keyboard.
Rice’s work in AV commenced with her New Worlds project in 2020, creating immersive AV environments. Her sold-out live shows have been described as “part rave, part art-happening.” She released her debut album Redux in 2017.
This was followed by a string of self-released tracks via AWAL, followed by sophomore album ELISION, released by Injazero Records in September 2022, garnering a positive review from Electronic Sound Magazine.