What is Binaural Audio?

Binaural audio utilises the way we, as humans, experience and process sound. Our ear is a very complex system, which can detect minute differences in times of arrival and timbral changes, which results in us being able to localise sounds with quite a reasonable degree of accuracy. By using either special recording techniques and setups (such as Neumann KU 100 Dummy), or by applying the ideas outlined in psychoacoustics and simulating the changes to sounds at the moment of reaching the ear by using specifically designed audio software (such as DearVR), one can create an utterly realistic audio experience which blurs the line between reality and recordings (depending on the audio gear used to playback the sound, obviously).

The idea is not a new concept at all, but it definitely has seen a rise in popularity in recent years due to technological advances reducing the cost of the production of such material, as well as the development in Virtual Reality (VR) headsets. Also, it is important to note, that the “360 effect” of binaural audio can only be reproduced on a pair of headphones due to the removal of room acoustics out of the equation.

Examples in Music and Critique

Binaural audio is great for immersive interactive experiences and is being used in games, especially the VR titles, such as Half-Life: Alyx. And it makes sense! Developers have to put the player inside the virtual world, making them ignore their real surroundings. But as soon as we start talking about the musical side of things, binaural masters are far and few between. I have found multiple recordings, such as a full LP by Pearl Jam titled Binaural, Rolling Stones live performances, orchestral classical music and the more experimental side of the audio industry.

And honestly, I was only sold on more abstract works, due to the fact that they were able to immerse me into artistically crafted audial worlds, rather than trying to put me in a room with a band or an orchestra. This is a deeply personal opinion, but binaural recordings of rock music just annoy me, due to the weird pannings of guitars and it just felt unconvincing. This is not how a band sounds live playing a gig, nor the producers of the record were trying to make an artistic statement (probably), so what exactly is the reason for compiling such a master? I do believe that after experimenting with this for while, many audio professionals have just abandoned the idea of making “immersive” music, by just looking at the popularity of such releases, due to the fact that a classic song mix is hyperrealistic and utilises a lot of smart techniques to oftentimes break the rules of the acoustics, which results in great artistic outcomes.

My Plans on Using Binaural Audio

Having said that, electronic music often already dismisses acoustics due to the fact that the sound is not captured by using microphones! Due to this, it is the composer's role to create his own ambient picture and provide a listener with a creative. I do believe that binaural audio is a great tool for ambient and experimental types of music, due to the fact that oftentimes they are less rhythm-based or allow for much more unusual ways of mixing audio. 

So for my own project, I am going to produce my own ambient inspired dub/ illbient music where I will heavily experiment with panning techniques and obviously - binaural audio. I am extremely excited to use this technology for my own music, as I do believe that this will allow me to compose more immersive soundscapes and use binaural audio intentionally while composing the piece.