Step inside REALM and see how sound can bend perception
If you’ve ever wondered why a certain song gives you goosebumps, or why a beat can warp your sense of time, Sydney’s about to give you a live answer.
Aria and Grammy-winning producer Eric J Dubowsky is debuting REALM, an experimental music event that fuses cognitive neuroscience with immersive sound, at Machine Hall on Sunday, 30 November.
After shaping hits for Flume, FKA Twigs, St. Vincent, and ODESZA, Eric J is turning his studio expertise to something more experimental.
Collaborating with ambient artist Matt Curtin, creative director Tim Baggott, and cognitive neuroscientist Dr Steffen A. Herff, the team has engineered music that doesn’t just move you emotionally, it actively alters perception and cognition.
REALM’s debut offers two distinct sound journeys. Neural Rush is designed to provoke aesthetic chills, spiking heart rates and triggering shivers, while Dream Hacker invites vivid mental imagery, out-of-body sensations, and a warped sense of time and space, complete with live visuals by Justin Ridler.
Audience feedback is integral, with participants reporting what they felt and imagined, feeding back into REALM’s ongoing research.
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The project is lab-tested, with compositions trialed on 100 participants at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music’s Music, Mind & Body Lab. Results were striking: mental imagery increased by 35%, and listeners reported time distortion up to 55x.
“This isn’t just about music that’s relaxing or uplifting,” says Eric J. “It’s about how specific musical elements influence the brain. We can design immersive journeys that are intentional, nuanced, and, frankly, a bit mind-blowing.”
REALM positions itself at the intersection of art, science, and human experience–offering audiences the chance to be part listener, part explorer, and part research subject.
REALM: Neural Rush + Dream Hacker
Machine Hall, Sydney – Sunday, 30 November
Doors 6.30pm | Register: Humanitix
