Bell Labs - Experiments in Arts & Technology

Beatie Wolfe's Raw Space sits under the umbrella of Bell Labs Experiments in Art and Technology, a 50-year-old collaborative program which began in October, 1966 with 9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering, and Wolfe is one of the first 21st century collaborators joining the likes of past participants John Cage, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg. Bell Labs president and Nokia CTO Marcus Weldon said the program has “attenuated” over the decades, but he's hoping to kickstart it by working with Wolfe. Visit Nokia Bell Labs website (+)

Raw Space: The Anti-Stream

Raw Space was released as the world’s first live 360° AR experience, produced in collaboration with Nokia Bell Labs and Design I/O. Combining live 360° stereoscopic video of Wolfe’s physical record stream from the quietest room on earth, with real-time AR animations, the effect was a Fantasia-like live streamed album, which ran continuously for a week with artwork that evolved every time the record spun. “With ‘Raw Space’, I wanted to create the anti-stream for our current streaming generation and really celebrate the world of the album – its artwork, arc, narrative, music – in a ceremonial and absorbing way that makes the listener feel like they’ve been transported into the world of the album, like I did opening up a record as a kid.” read more (+)

The Rawest Sound enters the Rawest Space

Following its launch from the quietest room in the world, Raw Space was beamed into space via the historic Bell Labs Holmdel Horn Antenna, which was used to prove the validity of the Big Bang theory. Nobel Prize winning scientist Dr Robert Wilson (who discovered Cosmic Background Radiation) made the first update to this Historic National Landmark in 50 years to make sure the music of Raw Space got past the earth's atmosphere and into outer space. The Raw Space Beam was not the studio version of the album, but the raw anechoic version (no reverb, EQ or audio enhancements) recorded in the Nokia Bell Labs Anti-echo Chamber – Wolfe’s idea being that for the first time, raw anechoic sound would enter raw space as a true reflection of our humanity at a time of increased airbrushing, auto-tuning and AI

Little Moth live in Anechoic AR

Beatie Wolfe performs ‘Little Moth’ live in the Bell Labs Anechoic Chamber as part of her world's first Raw Space album release. Watch the live AR bring to life the song’s lyrics and artwork in real-time. This is the first performance of its kind. Beatie Wolfe also performs for Click’s music and tech special from the BBC Radio Theatre in London on 26 December 2017 - hear more (+)

The Raw Space Chamber at the V&A

The Raw Space Chamber at the V&A, was produced in collaboration with Nokia Bell Labs, tells the story of Raw Space – the world’s first live 360° AR stream – in its new portable incarnation. Inside this gilded chamber, installed by Getov and Steely and wrapped in NASA-grade Mylar linking to Wolfe’s Raw Space Beam and Project Echo, visitors can immerse themselves in a truly magical and ceremonial listening experience, while AR animations bring the album’s artwork and lyrics to life in real-time via a vintage coin-operated binoculars viewport and spinning vinyl - learn more (+)

30 Joint Press and Highlights