Phantom Sync

Phantom Sync is an interactive sound installation that explores how sound can be spatialized, embodied, and shared through movement. Four corner speakers and a Kinect sensor turn a room into an instrument — each participant activates and controls one distinct audio layer from a larger composition, which follows their position across the space in real time.

As more people enter, new sonic elements are introduced, building the piece from a sparse melody into a full, immersive soundscape. The longer participants stay, the more their track transforms — layering in additional rhythms, harmonies, and effects. When everyone leaves, the audio resets, ready for the next group to begin again.

The piece is built on TouchDesigner for real-time sound control and spatial mapping, with a Kinect v2 tracking each participant's X and Z coordinates. A crossfading matrix maps position to four speaker volumes — move closer to a corner, that speaker gets louder; move away, it fades. The result is the sensation that sound is physically tethered to your body.

Audio stems were drawn from deconstructed MIDI arrangements of retro video game music — Wii Sports, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Pokémon Gold/Silver, Super Mario 64, and Wild Arms — chosen for their modularity and nostalgic resonance. Each participant controls one layer: melody, bass, percussion, or ambient texture. The full composition only emerges through collective presence.

The conceptual frame is nostalgic augmentation — taking flat, screen-bound audio memories and redistributing them across bodies and space. Sound becomes something to be followed, felt, and navigated rather than passively received.

Collaborator: Assal Toudehfallah