CV
Lorenzo Brusci (born 1966) is an Italian sound-experience and sound space designer, based currently between Krakow (Poland) and Berlin (Germany). He studied Philosophy and Philosophy of Music at the Florence and Siena University. An overview of his compositional work can be found at www.soundcloud.com/lorenzo-brusci , at https://timet.bandcamp.com/ and www.lorenzobrusci.com
Since late 90′s Brusci started exploring the implications of dynamic sound and music space design within landscape and architecture, with the experimental music team Timet before, then with the Giardino Sonoro project (www.giardinosonoro.com) and the SED studio – Sound and Experience Design – in Berlin and Krakow (late 2008). In 2009 He founded with Lorenzo Coppini Architettura Sonora (www.architetturasonora.com), as a division of B&C Speakers.
To control and materialize the abstract forces of mechanical and electroacoustic technology through B&C experience and know-how, resulted into a systematic development of many of the shapes and experience design concepts he had developed since the Giardino Sonoro and SED times. His continuous research and his resourceful approach to experience design allow him to constantly push new boundaries in space and product design, creating and inspiring some of the most interesting innovations in the audio and technology design industry. In 2013 he finally founded with composer and music engineer Simone Conforti MUSST, Multisensing Space Studio, (www.musstdesign.com): Sensorial Space Design and Algorithmic Music at their most advanced and challenging stages.
Again with Simone Conforti, and longtime collaborator, computer scientist and methodologist Valentijn Borghuis, Lorenzo founded MUSI-CO, a team of research and development fully dedicated to Artificial Intelligence and Music generation. See here their demo Apps IMPRO and Musicfit.
In June 2021 Musico launches a spin off for automatic music composition based on short-video analysis: SOUNDIVE
In July 2023 Musico is launching the music biofeedback for mental health, MINDKESTRA
Brusci has been a guest speaker and visiting professor at various schools, workshops and institutions including among others Siena University, Florence University, Politecnico University in Milano, Chelsea College of Art and Design in London, The Art Academy in Krakow, the Instituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Milan, the Architecture Triennale in Krakow, the Music Biennale in Venice, Royal College of Arts in London, ZHdK University – Zürcher Hochschule der Künste in Zurich, the Attakkalari Biennal master classes in Bangalore, the Lebanese University and the Jesuit University in Beirut.
Early career
In the early 90’s he was the founder and the intellectual engine of the music open team Timet, a network of music professionals investigating compositional and performative techniques for non-linear music and assisted composition and improvisation. In those years Brusci used to design live music actions performed by musicians often assisted-while-improvising, following (his) physical and gestural instructions or embedding instructions directly on tape-music soundscapes (see the results of these practices on Cicli di Sintesi, Quadri di Schermo Vivo, Colazione con la Pietra).
In the mid 90’s Brusci continued experimenting on themes related to non-linear music, exploring different kind of symbolic inter-languages:
intra-musical – ‘live music-gestural instructions’ conducting ‘music actions’: i.e. “Madame Butterfly”, conducted by composer Ikue Mori; similar experiments too place, featuring musicians as Jamie Saft, Matthew Ostrowski, Stefano Bollani, Mirko Guerrini, Frank Shulte and Enrico Rava; or extra-musical – ‘graphical or choreographic performances’ conducting ‘live musicians’ interpretations’: i.e. “Partitura Viva” with choreographer Raffaella Giordano/Sosta Palmizi.
Brusci simultaneously radicalized the integration of real musicians/players with free-form “sample music ” and electronic sound articulations (La via Negativa, Shadows – featuring singer and performer Andrea de Luca). In music works Restituzioni (1999), Carne Capitata (2000), Zarathustra (2001), Musica Leggiadra (together with performer Letizia Renzini) (2003), Metamorfosi di Canzoni Napoletane (2005), Brusci’s virtualization of ‘musician-musician’ interplay and ‘musicians-electronics’ interplays, made of his post production techniques a real compositional tool.
Musicians involved in Timet, among others, Stefano Bollani, Mirko Guerrini, Andrea Melani, Ares Tavolazzi, Roberto Andreucci, Fabio Provazza, Fabio Baini, Beppe Mangione, Mirio Cosottini, Letizia Renzini, Enrico Gabrielli, Mariposa, Marco Parente, Alessandro Fiori, Giovanni Nardi, Tonino Miano, Frank Shulte, Andres Bosshard, Michele Balduzzi alias Phonat, Daniele Pianigiani). In parallel, Brusci continued his an open-data approach to music composition and meta composition (see the explorable database of elementary compositional material, interacting with (and transfiguring a) wide range of music traditions – i.e. the EasyClassics project and the e-published collective work, produced with the title Compilatione).
In early 2000 Brusci’s research focuses more and more on the potential of immersive sound space design and on how immersive sound spaces could help to naturalize complex music forms and the wider body of music heritages – see the “Klangturm project”, (under the direction of Andres Bosshard) Biel, Swiss Expo, 2001; “Ospite Ingrato “, Firenze – a site-specific art installation curated by Achille Bonito Oliva and Sergio Risaliti, 2003. The same approach he shared and introduced in his theatrical and contemporary dance compositions (among others, for Raffaella Giordano, Ariella Vidach, Giorgio Rossi, Bruno de’ Franceschi). Many have been the collaborations in the fields of Television and Radio: RAI, BBC, RTSI, RSI, RADIO RAI 2 and 3.
Giardino Sonoro and Sound and Experience Design
The immersive sound space design experiments carried out between 2001 and 2003, can be considered a methodological turning point.
Brusci started realizing he needed to use less standardized loudspeakers and sound control systems, new sound modules able to variously interact with architecture and its dimensional and material features. He then started prototyping environmental and architectural sound modules -with a strong commitment to the integration of technology and landscape design- and related immersive and environmental music compositions, characterized by multichannel music design and adaptive contents (i.e. the noise masking project). In 2003 he founded with gardener Stefano Passerotti Giardino Sonoro, a team of Environmental Designers based in Florence. Through their Sonic Garden lab, they carried on experiments and tests for site-specific landscape sound and multisensorial installations, developing a wide collection of sonorous and luminous objects. These elements, together with dedicated garden design items, induced an extension of the ambiance’s capacity to express symbolic contents, thus imparting an altered and dynamic perspective on the Habitat. Lorenzo Brusci and Giardino Sonoro had an exposure at European level with projects like the BBC Gardeners’ World Live Show in Birmingham in 2004; a “Sound Garden“ at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in 2005; the International Garden Festival Chaumont sur Loire; “a town for the future” at the Architecture Biennale in Venice; “ Le Jardin Sonore à Paris”, Nuite Blanche 2006; “Un jardin à la toscane experimental” at Printemps de la Mode in Paris, 2006, and “La noche en blanco” in Madrid in 2007. During the Giardino Sonoro and the SED years – Sound and Experience Design (launched in Krakow and Berlin in 2007), Brusci developed a full sound experience design fundamentals, in order to virtualize and multiply through sound space design the perception of any architectural space.
Architettura Sonora At the end of 2008 the time was mature for a deep and electro-acoustically well grounded architectural sound system design, able to be highly spatial and expressive, synthesizing the Giardino Sonoro and the SED experiences into a new generation of environmental sound module design. In 2009 Lorenzo Brusci and Lorenzo Coppini, CEO of B&C Speakers, founded Architettura Sonora, Applied Acoustics, as division of B&C Speakers (www.architetturasonora.com) in order to advance the debate of a new approach to audio systems and its architectural and organic aesthetics. After the full industrialization of the Architettura Sonora collections, Lorenzo goes finally back to the pure technology design, music composition, and sound and visual experience design.
2013 sees the foundation of MUSST, Multisensing Space Studio (www.musstdesign.com) together with composer and music technology designer Simone Conforti. Highly responsive multisensing spaces design is the main focus at MUSST, a team of multidisciplinary professionals dedicated to enhance the distinctive qualities of any architecture, both indoors and outdoors, through a wise sensing space design, conceived as a living and environmental whole, where the expressive power of art is turned into architectural and permanent experience. The sound space design principles driving MUSST are intended to break the static listening culture (the stereophonic one, related to a controlled reproduction of the “concert” experience) and to strongly introduce the IMMERSIVE and MULTI-CENTRIC praxis of listening to music “within a space” as a central condition of the architectural experience.
REL-BEING
2013 sees also Lorenzo Brusci founding with actor Beniamino Brogi the project Relational Being, REL-BEING (www.rel-being.com). The project is focused on cross-media narratives, mapped in interactive city-maps. Its social communication implications will be explored in the next years. The Italian Swiss Radio bought recently the format for a first cycle of programs on Ticino: Ticino Life Telling was broadcasted in December 2014. Next chapter, Lebanon, together with journalist Lorenzo Trombetta and architect Ali Shokor. The Lebanese University and the Islamic University of Lebanon will host new sessions of Rel-Being, dedicated to the current culture and practices of public space and an ideal future Lebanon.
On the compositional and performing side, Luca Canciello and Lorenzo Brusci founded SYNCHRE - early 2015.
Their first work (REQUIEM) is released by Attenuation Circuit – http://attenuationcircuit.de/ – and it’s going to be presented on December 2nd, 2016, at GIGANTIC Gallery, MIlano.
Special guest: Enrico Gabrielli.
In 2016 Brusci found with artist Bernhard Vierling Portray Society. A live action where Lorenzo sound-portrays attendees (a live electronic action based on their pre-recorded voice); while Bernhard sketches live on paper the living modeling acted by every attendee.
On Ai powered generative music, Simone Conforti and Lorenzo Brusci founded in 2016 MUSI-CO, www.musi-co.com, supported and immediately joined by Valentijn Borghuis, with the scientific advice of Paolo Frasconi, and recently joined by Marco Bertola, Marco Liuni, Alessandro Tibo, Alberto Gatti, and many other amazing media and machine learning researchers.
New amazing challenges on Ai music composition have just started.
in May 2023 Lorenzo and Musico join forces with Aidia, Luca Angiolini, Francesco Lombardi, Riccardo Celli to launch Super Ai Studio, an agnostic Ai problem solving team of professionals, with a strong attitude to social data science and the integration and usability of Ai in human decision making processes.
Duos
Lorenzo is composing and performing together old and new friends. A brand new duo with saxophonist Giovanni Nardi has just released its first work, EXPLORATIONS.
Another duo with techno and ambient musician Marco Madia released the album INKLUESIVES in 2017 with the label Attenuation Circuit.
Another duo, with the German drummer Heinz Lieb, came to a release in 2016, MIGRATION, again with the label Attenuation Circuit.
Trios
In 2019 Brusci starts collaborating with Lviv based electronic musicians Yury Bulka and Myroslaw Trofymuk (MULNA, Multiple Natures); always in 2019 he starts a collaboration with electronic music composers Miryana Nardella and Francesco Altilio: in this trio Lorenzo only uses his voice – Gli Smateriati.
Quartets
In 2019 Brusci founds with tubaist Niccolò Perferi, trombonist Andrea Falsini, electronic music composer and singer Francesco Capanni, SANS BRASS ARCHITECTURE.
Since 2016 Lorenzo Brusci is exploring the visual domain, under the categories of Presemantics and multisensorial and Immersive Design – see the Lorenzo Brusci dedicated channel on YouTube.
See also is Instant visual and text research on Instagram.
CLIENTS, among Others
Public Greater London Authority (GB), City of London (GB), RHS (Royal Horticultural Socienty, GB), City of Florence (ITA), City of Milano (ITA), City of Venice (ITA), City of Bologna (ITA), City of Paris (FR), City of Cologne (DE), City of Naples (ITA), City of Berlin (DE), City of Krakow (PL), City of Hyderabad (INDIA), City of Bangalore (INDIA), City of Viareggio (ITA), City of Nantes (FRA), City of Le Mans (FRA), City of Marseilles (FRA), City of Madrid (ESP), City of Barcelona (ESP), City of Bilbao (ESP).
Commercial Philips (HOL); Schiphol Airport (HOL); Chuang Consortium (HK) (PRC); Mandarina Duck (ITA); Poltrona Frau Group (ITA); Prada (ITA); B&C Speakers S.p.A. (ITA); Folli Follie (ITA); Andrea Bocelli, Forte dei Marmi (ITA); Raiffeisen Bank (CH); Studio Baciocchi, Architects, Arezzo, (ITA); Zaha Hadid, Architects (GBR); Vladimir Djurovic, VDLA, Landscape Architect, Beirut (LEB); Ab Rogers, Architect (GBR); PLS, Architects, (ITA); Vienrose, Engineering (ITA); Studio 63, Architects (ITA); Rauch Family, Dorbirn (AUT); Darwish Family, Doha (QAT); Tony Salameh, Beirut (LEB); Building and Behavior, St.Gallen (CH); Targetti S.p.A. (ITA); Ernesto De Martino Foundation, Firenze, (ITA); Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation, Siena (ITA).
Exhibitions and theaters Triennale Design Museum, 2011, MILANO (ITA); Palazzo delle Esposizioni, 2010, ROME (ITA); Bastille Theatre, 2008, PARIS (FR); Cologne, PLAN 05, 2005 (DE); Milano Furniture Fair, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, Milano (ITA); Santa Maria della Scala, museum for modern art, 2010, Siena (ITA); Piccolo Teatro, 2005, MILANO (ITA); KKL, LUZERN (CH); Orizzonti, Forte Belvedere, FIRENZE, 2003 (ITA); Clerkenwell design festival, 2010, 2011, 2012, London (GBR); New Yok Design Week, 2010, 2011, 2012, New York (US); Ars Electronica 2002, LINZ (AUT); MOZAK, Contemporary Art Museum, Krakow (PL); Science Museum, 2002, NAPLES, (ITA); Swiss Expo ‘02, Biel (CH); Attakkalari Festival, 2002, BANGALORE (IND); Moers Festival, 2001, MOERS (DE); Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, 1999, 2001, PRATO (ITA); Castello Pasquini, 2004, CASTIGLIONCELLO (ITA); Teatro Ariosto, Consorzio i Teatri, 2005, REGGIO EMILIA (ITA); Théatre des Bernardines, L’Officina 29, 2005, MARSIGLIA (FRA); Atelier du Rhin, COLMAR, 2005, (FRA); Teatro delle Passioni E.R.T., 2005, MODENA (ITA); Teatro C.R.T., 2005, MILANO (ITA); Teatro Metastasio, 2006, PRATO (ITA); Bonci E.R.T., 2006, CESENA (ITA); de la Bastille, 2006, Paris (FRA); Teatro “REPUBLIC”, 2004, SALZBURG (A); Italian Institute of Culture, 2001, LOS ANGELES (US); Festival de Sitges, 1999, SITGES (ESP); Festival “El Grec”, 1999, BARCELONA (ESP); Fabbrica Europa, 2000, 2001, FIRENZE, (ITA); Musicus Concentus, 1999, 19998, 2000, FIRENZE (ITA); Festival “Segni Barocchi”, 1998, FOLIGNO, (ITA)
Scientific conferences and educational – Lisbon (POR), conference INTERNOISE 2010, invited paper. – Cairo, Egypt, conference ICSV 17, (http://www.iiav.org/archives_icsv/2010_icsv17/papers/830.pdf). Invited paper. – Stockholm (SWE), conference on “Designing soundscape for sustainable urban development”. Invited paper. – Bilbao (ESP), European Symposium on Acoustic Comfort in Urban Design. Invited paper. Lectures, among others: Siena University (ITA); Florence University (ITA); Politecnico University, Milano (ITA); Chelsea College of Art and Design in London (GBR); The Art Academy in Krakow (PL); the Instituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Milan (ITA); the Attakkalari Biennal Media Master classes, bangalore, (IND); the Architecture Triennale in Krakow (PL); the Music Biennale in Venice (ITA); Royal College of Arts in London (GBR); ZHdK: University – Zürcher Hochschule der Künste.