West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal, post-security passenger tunnel

Utilizing LAX’s acoustic design and sound system in this passenger tunnel, DUBLAB has developed a sound art installation to enhance the ambience of the airport and provide a first impression of Los Angeles’ cultural offerings.

The installation features a wide spectrum of artists from Los Angeles, using a generative process to select and modify unique original compositions that progress as the visitor makes their way through the tunnel. The audible result is an infinite range of unpredictable combinations, cascading arrangements, musical movements, and genre combinations that reference the cultural spectrum of Los Angeles.

The word orchestrina is defined as any various type of mechanical musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of an orchestra. For the immersive sound experience heard in this tunnel, DUBLAB has expanded the definition of an orchestrina by introducing the use of modern technologies and tapping the musical community surrounding DUBLAB radio as its own orchestra.

DUBLAB’s The Orchestrina explores the relationship of how passengers moving from point A to point B bears the same experiential and linear qualities as listening to music and other time-based media. The physical length of the tunnel can be interpreted as an acoustic timeline. Experiencing The Orchestrina allows the listener to become the needle on the record. The composition does not progress unless you proceed to the next section of the tunnel. If you were to stand in one place, your stillness suspends the advancement of the composition and allows you to relish in a type of looping musical stasis.

To create The Orchestrina, DUBLAB sourced a custom library of original modular music segments from a diverse array of 30 artists and incorporated the sounds into a bespoke software system. Using the building blocks of rhythm, melody and ambience, the system not only determines the section of the tunnel in which the selected clips will play, but it also acts as LAX’s own DJ, providing a distinctive soundtrack to the traveler’s sonic journey.

DUBLAB is a non-profit, internet radio station based in Los Angeles. Since 1999, DUBLAB has been broadcasting wide-spectrum music from around the world. Its programming has expanded to include the production of art exhibitions, films, events, record releases, and educational programs. DUBLAB is a platform for discovery and the cultivation of next-wave music, arts, and culture. Explore all that DUBLAB has to offer at dublab.com.