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Welcome to the listening booth for my installation, Mattified: A Study in Bespoke Audioware. In this space, I showcase the prototype (sample version of) a permanent audio installation. The installation involves a hybrid residency: off-site audio production and then physical handover of the media. The objective is to create an immersive sound which becomes part of the structure itself. Specifically, the physical handover involves a technical process I call resonance specification for high-mass architecture.

Tap the play button to feel the luxury of Side A (approximately 25:55). Then, continue for Side B (37:04).

Side A Track List:
Subterranean
Overheard
Anthracite
Cast Glass/Ferrous
Mattified

To qualify for installation, the home or high-mass structure must be standalone, and built from stone, masonry, or a monolithic pour of raw, unpainted concrete (béton brut). Installations are not available in audio streaming or downloadable formats. On-site audits, calibration and injection into the home’s neural brain (Crestron, Savant, Control4 (Performance Edition), Lutron HomeWorks, Elan) are the final phase of the process.

Side B Track List
Fortepiano
Cantilever
Reflection
Way Back
Impresario
Aux In

The protagonist of Mattified is my cello. Built in the 1840s, before the industrial “perfection” of modern sound, it carries nearly two centuries of vibration, wood-curing, and physical history.

Primary Instrument:
Nicole Artx plays a custom 19th-century cello. Leads the project as a multidisciplinary creative in dialogue between heritage and innovation.

Extended Strings:
Dmitri Stojković. Belgrade, Serbia. Classically trained rebel. Provides the grit and power with raw, emotive bowing.

Grand Piano and Percussion:
Lilia Sato. Kanagawa, Japan. Focused on “Ma” (the space between notes). Handles the delicate ivory work and avant-garde percussion.

Engineering:
Mixed by Nicole Artx using vintage tube pre-amps and neural processing.

And I will close out this brief introduction with special thanks to my collaborating team members, instructors and mentors, Dmitri Stojković (Serbia) and Lilia Sato (Japan). Lots of thanks go to the beta listeners and pro musicians pre-launch who told me to keep working. And with their encouragement, I was able to translate my admiration for brutalist architecture and minimalist design through the impassioned percussion of the piano, and the raw grit of bow-on-string friction. Using the analog chords harvested from our in-studio/remote practice sessions, I sculpted a sound with a texture that is truly mattified.

Copyright © 2026 Nicole Artx and Saint Joan Creative Studio. All Rights Reserved. All audio tracks, compositions, and visual assets are the exclusive property of the artist. Unauthorized broadcasting, public performance, copying, or re-distribution is strictly prohibited.