Music from the Metaverse: The Spirit of the Giant Tree

This is one of my series of auditory-visual synesthetic compositions, in which images are transformed into three-dimensional, immersive electroacoustic music.

Does a tree feel anything? What kind of consciousness does a tree have?

One day, I encountered a giant tree. Its rough bark and monumental trunk suddenly raised these questions in me. I wanted to search for an answer through music—to imagine what it might mean to experience the world from within a tree.

The Spirit of the Giant Tree depicts the life of a giant tree growing upon a massive rock. Through blooming, decay, illness, and eventual rebirth, the tree continuously directs its vitality toward growth and expansion, regardless of the environment in which it exists.

The work is composed in an ambisonic system. The audience is surrounded by sound representing the tree and experiences its journey from a first-person perspective, as though entering the center of the tree itself. Through immersive 3D sound, the listener is invited to sense not only the tree's growth and transformation, but also the primordial pulse of the forest and the earth.

During the compositional process, I suddenly realized that a giant tree might be understood as an extension of the Earth's consciousness—an embodiment of a life span far longer than that of a human being. When I close my eyes and listen to the music, I sense the ancient spirit of the Earth and the deep vitality of forests: a primordial throbbing, and a powerful impulse toward recovery even after the immense damage caused by humanity.

This realization became especially meaningful in the radically changing world of the twenty-first century. In the post-pandemic era, emerging technologies and the idea of the metaverse have generated excitement about new possibilities and new worlds, while at the same time, the ecological crisis has brought humanity a growing sense of uncertainty and even an eschatological imagination.

Yet the Earth possesses a vitality far beyond our own. It will continue to live and regenerate long after humanity—and perhaps other species she has brought forth—have passed away. The Earth gives life, and life inevitably comes and goes, while her capacity to nurture life endures.

Through the spirit of the giant tree, this work invites us to glimpse the ancient consciousness of the Earth and to experience, through sound, the mysterious power of its will to live.

Listening

For the most immersive experience, please listen with headphones in a quiet environment. Professional over-ear studio monitor headphones are recommended. Over-ear headphones generally provide a more immersive experience than in-ear headphones, although ordinary headphones can also be used. Even the wired Apple EarPods that were once included with iPhones can provide a suitable listening experience when connected to a computer.

Audience Response

“After listening to this work, I felt deeply healed. It felt as though I had entered the giant-tree forest in Avatar. It was breathtaking, and I wanted the experience to continue.”