Ikaro is a “photosynthesizer”, an audiovisual and performative instrument which emits light and translates it into sonic frequencies. In the continuity of visual music devices, that represent sound in the form of a visual medium, Ikaro invites the user and the audience to look as well as to listen.

Ikaro imagines a new way of producing sounds by manipulating light. Through an interface composed of a series of modular elements, the system allows several ways of combining, emitting and filtering light, reinterpreting the concept of a modular synthesizer by controlling fans, LEDs, and lasers. Analog sound synthesis consists in modulating sounds in the form of an electrical signal: in Ikaro, the sound is directly produced by photovoltaic cells that transform light into electrical variations. Through those “light microphones”, Ikaro also explores a fundamental dimension of electronic music in a raw way.