Quantum is a solo audiovisual performance composed for percussion, electronics, and Ceramophone (a ceramic instrument).
In 2025, it expands to incorporate virtual reality.
Quantum delves into the infinitely small—the fundamental vibrations of matter. After relativity, quantum physics is the next major scientific breakthrough to transform our understanding of the universe.
This movement is a sonic and visual exploration of the fundamental principles of quantum physics, blending live performance, electronics, and new technology. It is a journey into the subatomic oscillations of matter itself.
THE SCORE
It reflects the principle of resonance. According to quantum theory, the smallest units of matter exist simultaneously as both matter and energy—that is, as waves governed by resonance.
The performance unfolds in three movements: Matter, Antimatter, and Young‘s Double-Slit Experiment.
Matter consists of elementary particles, which, according to string theory, may themselves be formed by vibrating strings.
Only matter is observable but quantum physics demonstrates that antimatter and antiparticles also exists. Matter and antimatter are the two opposing faces of the universe, the light side and the dark side.The Young‘s Double-Slit Experiment movement demonstrates the wave-like nature of particles, revealing that a single particle can pass through two slits simultaneously—a phenomenon that challenges our classical understanding of reality.
THE CERAMOPHONE, A NEW INSTRUMENT
The Ceramophone comprises a series of ceramic sculptures by Japanese artist Toru Kurokawa specifically created for Quantum. It is the culmination of extensive research on matter and sound by Paget and Kurokawa.
The Ceramophone is divided into three percussion groups:
– The main body of the instrument, a series of sculptures inspired by visual elements of string theory, played with mallets.
– The “plates“, large circular slabs resembling cymbals, played with a bow.
– The “bow trumpets“, sculptures shaped like flattened trumpet bells, also played with a bow.
These sculptures have been carefully crafted and selected to produce the range of sounds and resonances required by the piece.
A traditional percussion set (including vibraphone, toms, cymbals, etc.) complements the Ceramophone, enriching the performance.
QUANTUM 2.0
In 2025, N’SO KYOTO integrates groundbreaking new technologies into the performance:
Reactive Video Creation
Visual artist Sagar Patel creates video compositions based on three-dimensional modeling of Toru Kurokawa’s sculptures which are responsive to sound modulations. The audience is taken on a journey from immersion in matter, to its disintegration, and its eventual reconfiguration.
AR Integration : a first in a live concert
Yannick Paget blurs the boundaries between the material and immaterial through the simultaneous performance of physical and AR instruments. This hybridization evokes the quantum concepts of matter and antimatter as the audience witnesses projections of virtual instruments. This technology will be performed for the first time.
Sound Spatialization
Twelve speakers surround the audience, offering an immersive, semi-spherical sound experience. This system creates an acoustic environment within the performance space that takes the audience beyond the actual dimensions of the room. In this new soundscape, duplicated sounds, response effects, and echoes can be spatialized individually anywhere within the space. Like elementary particles, the sounds interact, move, and transform within this sonic version of the quantum world.
