Fields App by Planeta Offers Spatial Sound in VR/AR

NYC product studio Planeta has just released Fields – a groundbreaking augmented reality creation tool for iOS that invites all skill levels to compose on a 3D sonic canvas. Anchor sounds in the physical space around you, and paint with them as you move your device while holding down action buttons. Fields includes handmade installations by Matmos, Ami Yamasaki,Matthew Patterson Curry, Nils Berg Cinemascope, and an exclusive spatial edit by Robert Lippok.

Planeta has been experimenting with sound and its interactions with emerging technology, excited by a moving, three-dimensional experience rather than fixed on a single point. The next release is Drops — a gravity-based musical instrument set in a serene environment for Oculus and Vive. It occupies a unique spot in the VR landscape: it’s not a roller coaster, wave shooter, or cartoon technicolor explosion. Kinesthetic learning provides a way for those with little to no musical training to create rich, expressive polyphonic rhythms. At the same time, it allows intricate customization to those that want to fine tune their work.

Drops comes with palettes of shapes that correspond to unique sound libraries, which were created by acclaimed composer and performer Patrick Higgins (of Zs) and experimental DJ/producer Patrick Russell. Drops reimagines musical interfaces beyond knobs and buttons to create an immersive setting for music production that is unlike anything else.

Planeta has built a number of acclaimed VR pieces, including retrospectives of Malick Sidibé andRoger Ballen‘s iconic photographic works. They partnered with GIPHY to build the very firstMuseum of GIF Art (MoGA), and developed GIPHY World and GIPHY Cam for iOS and Android. Its East Village space is an active venue, welcoming Arto Lindsay, Derek Gripper,Ernst Reijseger, and many others to perform.