Sound signature as paradigm: ecology, apparatus, and electroacoustic creation

Resumen

This article proposes the concept of sound signature as a paradigm for rethinking contemporary electroacoustic composition at the intersection of ecology, philosophy, and technological mediation. Moving beyond the early studio paradigm centered on the autonomous sound object, the study argues that current practices – characterized by live electronics, immersive spatialization, audiovisual integration, and AI-driven systems – foreground relational organization rather than isolated sonic materials. Drawing on Bernie Krause’s theory of ecological soundscapes and Giorgio Agamben’s concept of the signature as a paradigmatic operator, the article reconceptualizes composition as the construction and revelation of relational sonic fields. Ecological sound signatures emerge from the dynamic distribution of acoustic niches within living systems; analogously, electroacoustic works generate structured environments in which agency is distributed across performers, algorithms, spatial systems, and listeners. This framework is examined through analyses of the immersive audiovisual works Embracing Emptiness (2018/24), The Skin of the Earth: Fragments (2024), and the ambisonic composition Pune Metamorphosis (2022-23). These case studies demonstrate how live-electronic processing, spatial diffusion, and AI-driven visual systems construct sonic signatures as evolving ecologies rather than fixed forms. In each work, the apparatus – real-time signal processing, higher-order ambisonics, or machine-learning-based imagery – functions not merely as a tool but as an epistemological dispositif that shapes perceptual relations. By positioning sound signature as both descriptive and productive, the article articulates a shift from object-based to system-based thinking in electroacoustic creation, situating contemporary composition within a broader ecological and ethical horizon.