Scientific research on creatives and creativity
Academic collaborators
05/2026 - ongoing
Psychological profiling of Stefanie Egedy's subwoofer installations
Team
Research
Oliver Durcan, Stefanie Egedy
Partners
Kunstfestspiele Herrenhausen, Disk Agency, Haus der Elektronischen Künste (HEK), Sumor Festival
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Background
Creative Empirical is investigating the psychological effects of low-frequency sound in collaboration with sound artist Stefanie Egedy from May 2026. Audience surveys will be conducted at several of Stefanie's installations including BODIES AND SUBWOOFERS (B.A.S.) at KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen, Germany; SONIC ENERGETICS at Haus der Elektronischen Künste (HEK), Switzerland; and a new installation at Sumor Festival, Wales.
States such as awe, ego dissolution, mystical experience, and relaxation are well documented in research into extreme aesthetic experiences, yet the role of low-frequency sound in producing them remains largely unexamined.
The principal obstacle has been experimental control. In most settings, low frequencies are inseparable from music and other confounding variables. This study addresses that problem through a collaboration with sound artist Stefanie Egedy, whose installations provide a well-controlled test case. Egedy works exclusively with subwoofers, designing sound rather than music in the low-frequency range, which isolates low-frequencies as the variable of interest while retaining a naturalistic experiential context.
Methods
The study addresses two questions: what mechanisms shape the experience of low-frequency sound, and whether sustained exposure produces measurable psychological state changes. Pilot data is being collected to characterise the conscious-state profiles associated with prolonged low-frequency sound exposure, with a focus on awe, ego dissolution, mystical experience, and relaxation, alongside measures of expectancy and prior exposure. Visitors to the installations are invited to complete a short survey before and after the experience. No prior knowledge or preparation is required.
By applying validated measures from psychedelic and aesthetic-experience research to the underexplored domain of low-frequency sound, the study aims to establish an evidence base for the effects of low-frequency sound on listeners. Further updates will follow.
Creative Empirical is investigating the psychological effects of low-frequency sound in collaboration with sound artist Stefanie Egedy from May 2026. Audience surveys will be conducted at several of Stefanie's installations including BODIES AND SUBWOOFERS (B.A.S.) at KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen, Germany; SONIC ENERGETICS at Haus der Elektronischen Künste (HEK), Switzerland; and a new installation at Sumor Festival, Wales.
States such as awe, ego dissolution, mystical experience, and relaxation are well documented in research into extreme aesthetic experiences, yet the role of low-frequency sound in producing them remains largely unexamined.
The principal obstacle has been experimental control. In most settings, low frequencies are inseparable from music and other confounding variables. This study addresses that problem through a collaboration with sound artist Stefanie Egedy, whose installations provide a well-controlled test case. Egedy works exclusively with subwoofers, designing sound rather than music in the low-frequency range, which isolates low-frequencies as the variable of interest while retaining a naturalistic experiential context.
Methods
The study addresses two questions: what mechanisms shape the experience of low-frequency sound, and whether sustained exposure produces measurable psychological state changes. Pilot data is being collected to characterise the conscious-state profiles associated with prolonged low-frequency sound exposure, with a focus on awe, ego dissolution, mystical experience, and relaxation, alongside measures of expectancy and prior exposure. Visitors to the installations are invited to complete a short survey before and after the experience. No prior knowledge or preparation is required.
By applying validated measures from psychedelic and aesthetic-experience research to the underexplored domain of low-frequency sound, the study aims to establish an evidence base for the effects of low-frequency sound on listeners. Further updates will follow.