Sound Lab
Exploring the creative application of quantum technologies through sound.
From 21 February to 4 May 2025, Kraftwerk will be home to the LAS Sound Lab—a space for deep listening and sonic exploration. This environment invites visitors to discover newly commissioned sound works engaging with the creative possibilities of quantum technologies.
In recent years, research into the development of technologies based on quantum mechanics has progressed, particularly in the field of music production, inspiring sound artists and composers to experiment with tools and ideas emerging from this field.
For this very first edition of the Sound Lab, we have invited internationally acclaimed composers and sound artists whose distinctive aesthetics and musical experimentation are matched by their ability to engage with new technologies and scientific ideas. Their compositions offer a unique auditory experience that expands conventional ways of listening.
The Sound Lab created at Kraftwerk offers a dedicated space for the attentive listening of these commissioned works. Visitors can recline on loungers and experience the audio tracks through digital players and headphones in an immersive and contemplative atmosphere.
The LAS Sound Lab is an ongoing initiative, each iteration presenting a newly commissioned piece that explores the creative application of quantum technologies. The first artist to be featured is Canadian composer Kara-Lis Coverdale. Further artists will be announced in the coming weeks.
The ticket for the WE FELT A STAR DYING installation includes a visit to the Sound Lab. Tickets are available from our ticket shop.
Kara-Lis Coverdale: Primary Action at a Distance
Kraftwerk Berlin
21 February — 4 May, 2025
In the sound piece, Primary Action at a Distance, composer and musician Kara-Lis Coverdale interprets connectivity and entanglement in quantum physics. The instrumentation of the track is made with Actias, a synthesiser that integrates the principles of quantum mechanics and quantum computing to open up new ways for artists to create music.
“Primary Action at a Distance describes a system of connectivity. Particles within a sphere are moving and state is defined relatively [...] In this space there is no beginning, no end, and no shadow. What is entanglement if not the intersection of You and I?”
— Kara-Lis Coverdale
Kara-Lis Coverdale
Kara-Lis Coverdale currently lives in Ontario, Canada. She holds an MA in musicology and composition, and has received international critical acclaim for her scores, recordings and live performances. Coverdale has held residencies at Groupe de recherches musicales (GRM), Paris; Elektronmusikstudion (EMS), Stockholm; and FUGA, Zaragoza, and has presented original performances, talks and installations around the world, including Barbican Art Gallery, London; Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Musée d'Art Contemporain, Montreal; Theatro Circo, Braga; Kraftwerk Berlin; and Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg. Her next studio album will be released in spring 2025.
Credits
Kara-Lis Coverdale
Primary Action at a Distance
7:45 min, stereo audio, 2025
Instrumentation: Actias synthesis
LAS Project Team
Production and Installation Team
With thanks to:
Christl Baur (Ars Electronica), Monica Bello (Arts at CERN), Andrea Familari, Regina Greene (Front Porch Productions), Ferdi Tomassini and Harry Kumar (Moth Ltd.), Remco Schuurbiers (CTM).
