Blog
LAND SEA AIR at Arup Headquarters - London, UK 2012
CMP's exhibit LandSeaAir ran from February 17 to May 4, 2012 in Phase 2 Gallery at the headquarters of
Arup, the renowned structural engineering and acoustical design firm. Sound artist Charlie Morrow
explores through three-dimensional immersive sound our relationship between the environment and its
ecological changes, as well as its history. The visitor hears sounds from different epochs ranging from
giant dragonflies of the Carboniferous period to the internet and the circuitry of our contemporary digital
era. To complement Morrow's sonic journey the exhibition includes Geo Portrait Earth (1999) by
American filmmaker Gina Angelone and Time Spiral Cosmic Clock, a sculpture designed specially for the
exhibition by Finnish industrial designer Hannu Kähönen. Both works address our perception and
experience of the passing of time.
AHEAD! at the Habitare Design Fair - Helsinki, Finland 2010
Seagulls, boathorns, kids playing, dogs, and army marching band sounds create a True3D real-life
replica of a Helsinki marketplace environment. Located exclusively in our 2,000 sq meter AHEAD! show
at the Habitare Design Fair in Helsinki. This collaboration with Hannu Kähönen's CreaDesign and
Anteeksi is a popular attraction and alternative experience in the highly commercial design show. We mix
True 3D soundscenes with localized sounds for a jolly, familiar market atmosphere with small typical
sonic place details. The MorrowSound HiLo speaker format supports ear level conversation for cafeteria
and retail experiences. Our time spent gathering local sound is rewarded. The boat horns and the sonic
rainstorms sound very local Helsinki.
Fortaleza Hall, SC Johnson Inc. - Racine, Wisconsin 2010
An installation in a Foster+Partners-designed building for SC Johnson employees that includes a 3D
soundscape of a Brazilian rainforest. The Soundscape at SC Johnson is a thin veil of 3D sound that
harmonizes with the environment and create a layered, ever changing sonic atmosphere in Fortaleza
Hall. Made of themed Fortaleza, Brazil environmental sounds, the Soundscape combines with water
feature and air handler sounds, as well as the footfalls and conversations in Fortaleza Hall, driven by
Racine conditions such as wind and rain, light and dark.
Spokane Water Resources Center - Spokane, Washington 2012
CMP has recently collaborated with a bright new design team Renate based in Portland, Oregon. The
firm does planning and design for museums, science centers and cultural institutions. A feature of
Renate’s work is the integration of media from the outset. Renate creates projects that are unexpected,
fun and form a place of pride for their communities. Opened Spring 2012: Renate design for the
Spokane Water Resources Center engages visitors in understanding natural and engineered water
reclamation systems, to raise awareness about wastewater treatment and to inspire sustainable
practices and water conservation. CMP created a water soundscape for visitors entering and leaving the
Center through a silo structure, taking unique advantage of the silo echo.
Magic Forest & Aviary at Nationwide Children's Hospital - Columbus, Ohio 2012
Among giant trees and forest friends filling the Magic Forest, anyone sitting in the new waiting room will
be surrounded by sounds of distant birds, wild animals and even the occasional cricket. The Aviary has
dozens of colorful birds and colorful sonic flight patterns. Birds are heard taking off from the ground and
flying overhead. This Aviary has the peaceful sound of a river that flows through the hallway. Our 3D
soundscape is always changing. As the sounds of a natural forest change throughout the day, so does
the Magic Forest. Mornings are calm while afternoons are full of life. There are even sounds of crickets
and frogs at night. The sounds of birds and animals are produced at random, which means no two days
are alike. There is a unique experience for spring, summer, autumn, and winter. No matter what day of
the year you visit the Children's Hospital, you will experience the most vivid depiction of the outdoors.
Marimekko NY Flagship Store - New York, NY 2011
At the end of 2011, Charles Morrow Productions completed programming and installation of a
Morrowsound® True3D system at Marimekko's flagship Manhattan store on Fifth Avenue, right across
from the historic Flatiron Building. Marimekko has used 3D sound to create a unique shopping
experience in five stores to date. This new audio experience is an important part of the company’s brand
identity at the outlets in New York, Berlin, Malmö, and two in Helsinki, and it aims to create a truly
immersive in-store experience for both the customers and the staff. Marimekko's designs are closely
linked to and inspired by nature. That is why the stores use creative soundscapes that blend music and
natural sounds together, i.e., calm rainfalls, quiet bird song or simply a tranquil forest ambience which
create a freshly calm state of mind.
Piano Concert - Helsinki, Finland 2010
EARLY AND RECENT PIANO MUSIC OF CHARLIE MORROW (1942 USA)
ILMO RANTA, Pianist
Sibelius Academy, Chamber Music Concert Hall
1. Requiem for the Victims of Kent State for Solo Piano 1970 - 8 minutes
2. Soundpiece for Rock Amplified Piano 1968 - 25 minutes
3. Mozart Recontructions: Sonatas K331, 332 for piano and midi piano 1992 as midi work, 2009 as 3D
amplified and spatial work with sound environments. True 3D live mixing by Jone Ullakko. - 15 minutes
Arctic Studies Center - Anchorage, Alaska 2009-10
3D sound for museum installation. The sounds of the arctic are the indigenous calls and voices of the far
north. The melting of ice and snow; the flapping and galloping; the solitary within the herd and the herd
itself. The importance of community participation cannot be stressed enough: this audio environment is
being created by people whose communities have resided in Alaska for many millennia. They are the
owners of their own culture and caretakers of that of their ancestors. They are properly the people who
will tell their stories, and in the workshops, they will teach the producers, and ultimately the visitors,
about the natural sounds of the Alaskan environment as well.
The audio programs in the Soundscape will change regularly. These programs will be created by
members of Alaskan Native communities and sound artists as a result of workshops conducted by
Charlie Morrow at the Arctic Studies Center. Charlie Morrow will establish a training program to train
native producers to create 3D sound works which reflect the extraordinary way folks hear in the north.
Royal Soundscapes - Denmark 2009
The concept for Royal Soundscapes of North Sjaelland is to work with layers of sound presented on a
MorrowSound® True 3D multiple loudspeaker setup with tall loudspeaker stands festooned with royal
banners. The presentations are outdoors on one of the several historical sites of the stories. Each
location changes the overall experience. A light event starts and ends each performance.
Stories were created, based on historical sources, which formed the basis for several sound installations
that soundscape artists Charles Morrow Productions and students from the Tonespace Program at
VMK–Academy of Music and Music Communication in Esbjerg, Denmark prepared for the Sound Event in
August 2009.
Sonic Windsails - Copenhagen, Denmark 2010
A project and installation in Denmark developed by Jes Vagnby Architecture & Identity in collaboration
with Charles Morrow Productions, Copenhagen International Theatre with Trevor Davies, Roskilde
Festival, and others.
Steelcase Lobby - 4 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 2009, 2010
For the lobby of Steelcase’s New York Office, a long passageway from the street, Charles Morrow
Productions installed a 12.1, two-zone spatialized audio soundscape featuring sound-in-motion and
natural environments. As of this date, we have designed two soundscapes:
Sensations: Sound, Light, Color – demonstrates the use of sound, light and color to create the feeling of
well-being in living and working environments. Included award-winning Finnish design elements.
Four Freedoms Park – Lobby installation features drawings and photographs, for the upcoming
groundbreaking of the Louis Khan-designed park on New York’s Roosevelt Island (35 years in the
planning). The soundscape features natural environments taken from the sounds of the island itself,
recreated in the Steelcase Lobby.
72-speaker 3D soundscape for the Nokia World conference
Barcelona, Spain (300-foot-long tunnel) 2008
First we acquainted the Nokia creative team with a range of True 3D soundscapes from our past
projects. Together we wrote a script about the experience we wanted to deliver in time and physical
distance, which included the storyline of emotion and idea delivery in a precise timeline.
We gathered sound and planned how it would be used in space, such as the timed landing of jet airliner
through the entire tunnel or a wave moving through the tunnel with our new Nokia theme orchestrated
with melody on the top of the wave, overhead, and rhythm section at walking level, timed to spread of
the exiting guests.
We produced each individual scene's raw content. Then we montaged and mixed the sound content on a
scale assembly of the tunnel in a warehouse in order mix all motion believably. Only at scale can you be
sure the sonic motion from point to point is believable.
We used our own software to spatialize, then rendered entire sections of the soundscape, such as the
Barcelona Cathedral or Paris playground. The full tunnel effects had 72 channels, and partial tunnel
events had at least 8, we used Nuendo to montage and simultaneously play hundreds of virtual
channels. Each soundscape section was combined as single visual object on the scene timeline. We can
control each such object for fades and levels to allow the playback engineer control and flexibility.
3D sound creation of carboniferous period
Joggins Fossil Centre, Canada 2008
A three-minute day in the life of the Carboniferous Period, installed in a giant tree trunk, with projected
animation and spatial sound.
3D soundscape for the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Canton, Ohio 2008
A 3D sound experience of pro football sounds and voices.
Listening to the River
Great Lakes Children’s Museum, Traverse City, MI 2008
A master 3D soundscape and numerous interactive exhibits teaching management of the Lake Michigan
ecosystem to children.
Through the use of GestureTek projection, an interactive body of water is projected on the floor. Guests
marvel as each footstep sends ripples and scatters fish. The video was shot in Lake Michigan. Flush flat
rock surfaces with graphics are distributed along the bank and in the “water” itself allowing kids to jump
from rock to rock if they choose. Overhead speakers play a chasing loop of the sound of rushing water
and other watershed sounds provided by the LTTR kids. The sound runs the length of the stream.
CMP designed a moving montage of river sounds. We worked with the Gesture-Tek software to trigger
specific sounds at appropriate locations along the length of the Interactive River, allowing the children to
be more “present” in the simulated environment.