REVELATOR
Photography exhibit and immersive listening experience created in partnership with Artivist Records.
Immersive audio experience featuring upmix algorithm
What is
REVELATOR?
On April 2nd, 2026, NGO Artivist officially launched Artivist Records, the first non-profit music label in Romania.
To mark the occasion, Artivist partnered with SigmaLab and Zeedo to produce Revelator, a photography exhibition exploring the seen and unseen dimensions of a musician's life, paired with an immersive spatial audio experience. Stereo recordings of live performances by Romanian artists were transformed into 5.1 surround sound using SigmaLab's upmix algorithm, placing listeners inside the music rather than in front of it.
The algorithm combines two complementary processing modules: a deep neural network trained to separate four sound sources (drums, bass, vocals, and other) and a Primary-Ambient extraction module that isolates spatial and environmental components from the original stereo signal. The six output channels are derived by treating the separated sources as primary sound and retaining only the ambient component from the second module. The result is a format-agnostic method that performs consistently across both music and film material.
Deploying the algorithm in a live exhibition context provided a real-world test environment distinct from controlled lab conditions, varied room acoustics, non-standard speaker placement, and an uncalibrated audience. The experience validated the algorithm's robustness and demonstrated a concrete use case for upmixing technology in cultural and artistic production.
SigmaLab is open to research collaborations and applied projects at the intersection of signal processing and creative practice.
