Venue: Osaka Expo 2025, France Pavilion (Event Space)
Dates: Friday 15, Saturday 16, Sunday 17 August 2025
Time: Multiple performances daily, with a talk session each day
As part of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) 2025, N’SO KYOTO premiered Quantum 2.0 at Osaka Expo, a groundbreaking audio-visual performance that merges music, science, and technology into a singular sensory experience.
Quantum 2.0 was performed over three days, from August 15 to 17, in the France Pavilion Event Space (4th floor) at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai.
Performance Overview:
Quantum 2.0 is an innovative work for solo percussion, electronics, augmented reality, and the Ceramophone—a one-of-a-kind ceramic musical instrument. Created by French composer and performer Yannick Paget, in close collaboration with theoretical physicist Koji Hashimoto, ceramic artist Toru Kurokawa, and visual artist Sagar Patel, the piece explores the subatomic oscillations of matter as governed by quantum mechanics.
World Premiere
In this new iteration, the Ceramophone is performed both physically and through Augmented Reality, creating a hybrid sound experience rooted in the very principles of quantum physics.
For the first time, Virtual Reality technology was used in a live concert, blending physical and virtual instruments in real time. As projected virtual instruments appeared on screen, the audience could hear them performed alongside real instruments—the boundary between the material and the immaterial blurred, challenging perceptions of reality itself.
A reactive visual composition, based on 3D modeling of the ceramic sculptures, further deepened the experience. The visuals dynamically responded to sound, evoking the disintegration and reformation of particles—an artistic exploration of the essence of matter.
The performance was enveloped in immersive sound through advanced spatialization technology, surrounding the audience in a multidimensional sonic landscape.
Composition, Percussion, Electronics & Augmented Reality: Yannick Paget
Real-Time Visuals & MR development: Sagar Patel
Ceramicist: Toru Kurokawa
Scientific Advisor: Koji Hashimoto
Lighting Design: Hitomi Kiuchi
