Sonic Texture

This is a vague outline of things i want to explore with this piece of radiophonic art.

Explore Acousmatic Sound – How removing the visual source of a sound can make it feel more textural, ambiguous, and immersive. Maybe linking it to how dark spaces in raves shift perception.

Timbre & Spectral Qualities – How different synthesis and processing techniques can create sensations reminiscent of smoothness, roughness, elasticity, or dampness.

Physical Modelling & Skin Texture – Using tools like Kaivo to replicate the physical nature of skin, elasticity, friction, sensation of brushing past bodies.

Rhythm & Motion – How polyrhythms or microtiming can mirror touch (like stroking, tapping, or deep pressure) especially in the context of dancefloor movement. Look at Tropical interface for inspiration.

Haptic Audio & Low Frequencies – How sub-bass and deep pulses can feel like a form of physical communication, reinforcing the desexualised, communal aspects of touch in a rave.

For our group project, me and some classmates are organizing a rave and exploring how raves serve as spaces for healing, shared experience, and desexualized touch. As part of this, I am particularly interested in how sonic texture in music can evoke bodily sensations and deepen our connection to sound beyond just listening, and I’ve been spending time thinking about how we could achieve this. This post will explore different ways of approaching sonic texture—through acousmatic sound, timbre, rhythm, and physical modelling, to consider how music can simulate and embody the feeling of touch.

Acousmatic Sound

One of the most interesting aspects of auditory texture is how sound can evoke sensations without a clear source. Acousmatic sound (sound that is heard without seeing its source) allows for an ambiguous and immersive experience. In a dark, crowded rave, the disconnect between the visual and auditory can heighten the perceived texture of music, making it feel like a physical presence, or even a living being rather than just noise. I plan on using sound design techniques like convolution reverb, granular synthesis, and spectral morphing to help create these textures.

Timbre & Spectral Qualities

Timbre (which is the tonal quality of sound) can be sculpted to evoke different physical sensations. A smooth, sine tone with gentle modulation reminiscent of Ryoji Ikeda’s work could resemble the feeling of silk or skin, while rougher distorted textures could feel like sandpaper or static electricity. Spectral processing can emphasize certain frequencies to create sensations of warmth, sharpness, fluidity, or general cohesion in a mix.

I plan to craft sonic materials that mimic textures we might feel in a rave setting by layering harmonic-rich tones with subtle noise elements, such as bodies moving in unison, fabrics brushing past, or the humid air thick with bass.

Physical Modelling

Physical modelling synthesis is a technique I plan to use which can recreate the behavior of real-world materials, like the elasticity and resistance of skin. I can use plugins like Madrona Kaivo or Karplus-Strong delay to simulate the feeling of soft impacts, friction, or tension.

resonators and string models can be used to generate tones that resemble the elasticity of stretched skin, while percussive synthesis can mimic the sensation of fingers tapping against a surface. By incorporating these techniques into a rave’s sonic landscape, we can enhance the feeling of embodied listening—where sound is felt as much as it is heard.

Rhythm

Rhythm plays a crucial role in creating a sense of touch in music. Syncopation, polyrhythms, and microtiming can mimic the sensation of stroking, tapping, or deep pressure. Certain rhythmic patterns can also guide bodily movement, reinforcing the idea of dance as a form of non-verbal, desexualized touch.

By manipulating rhythm in ways that feel unpredictable yet organic, we can create a sonic experience that mirrors human touch—delicate in some moments, forceful in others, always in dialogue with the body.

Haptic Audio

Low frequencies have a physical impact on the body, making them a crucial component of tactile sonic experiences. Sub-bass frequencies resonate through the chest, mimicking the feeling of deep pressure therapy or the grounding effect of physical contact. The use of infra-bass and pulse-driven sound design can create a sense of sonic immersion that extends beyond the ears and into the body, reinforcing the collective physicality of a rave environment.

Conclusion

Sonic texture is a powerful tool for evoking touch, connection, and presence. Through acousmatic sound, timbre sculpting, physical modelling, rhythmic interplay, and low-frequency design, we can create immersive musical landscapes that deepen the communal experience of raving. This exploration will continue as we develop the auditory elements of our project, investigating how sound can facilitate a space where touch is not about intimacy but about shared experience and healing.