Nik Nowak Has MOMENTUM, Creating Mobile, High-End Sound Sculptures

Nowak's Futuristic Creations, Including "Soundtank", Connect Man, Machine and Sound. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) May 14, 2014 - Old Lyme, CT - Last month, audio specialist Sennheiser announced its MOMENTUM campaign, which together with Spotify highlights one hundred unique sound stories from all over the world: stories about creators with MOMENTUM, people who push the world forward with their creative passions. The stories feature artists, innovators and entrepreneurs in the truest sense, and serve to inspire others to uncover their own unique MOMENTUM.

The story of Berlin-based Nik Nowak is the latest in this series of inspiring stories. Nik Nowak, who is 33 and who has exhibited his work in China, Europe and Russia, embodies the ideals of Sennheiser's MOMENTUM campaign by designing and building futuristic sound sculptures that take to the streets and unleash up to 4,000 watts of sound for bedazzled audiences. Watch Nik Nowak's MOMENTUM video here, which explains how he is constructing an entirely new art form centered on music and machine.

All of Nik Nowak's sound sculptures amalgamate highly futuristic, angular shapes and pristine sound within unique, vehicular designs. He created his first sound sculpture in 2005, "Mobile Booster" - a bright green, wheeled object made of steel, wood and fiberglass and high-end loudspeakers. His most famous sculpture is the "Soundtank": a mini-dumptruck weighing 1.5 tons that has been transformed inot a 4,000-watt sound system with a hydraulically enabled wall of sound. This remarkable sound machine consists of four tweeters six 12-inch mid/bass woofers and three 18-inch subwoofers. Inside the cockpit is a fully featured DJ station with integrated production studio.

"Drawing forms the basis of my work," Nik Nowak explains. "Sound and drawing came together for me quite early on, and I started to construct special sound systems. I get a real thrill from pushing the boundaries, from knowing that everything that lies ahead is uncharted territory."

Nik Nowak is currently busy creating his latest project, "Echo", which consists of ground drones that will be used to blast his audiences with sound. Fitted out with directional microphones, the machines are fully autonomous and use sensors to detect people. "Drohne 1" picks up the sounds its target makes and uses a parametric speaker to generate a directional echo that sends the sounds straight back to their source. "Drohne 2" amplifies the sounds or conversations of gallery visitors via a gigantic sound system attached to a mast. This creates background noise comprising individual sound sources that are audible to everyone.

Among the influences of his new project was his own hearing loss: "Losing my high-frequency hearing in my right ear revealed to me just how much sound affects our sense of reality. This is what I am driving at with my new 'Echo' project," he says. Highly mobile and unstoppable, the drones are much like Nik Nowak himself: never resting, always searching for a potential connection between man, sound and machine.

What's your MOMENTUM?:

As part of the MOMENTUM campaign, Sennheiser is inviting anyone to share their creativity by contributing their own videos on www.sennheiser-momentum.com and by watching the MOMENTUM videos. Visitors can vote for their favorite stories and add their own seven-second MOMENTUM film to a video chain that inspired them, or that shares the same themes or ideas as their own submission. To take part in the MOMENTUM project, videos can be uploaded between April 2, 2014 and July 31, 2014.

Those who inspire the most successful chains, creators of the most successful videos, and people who vote over ten times in a week will be eligible for a weekly prize drawing for a pair of MOMENTUM headphones and a six month subscription to Spotify Premium. As part of the campaign, Sennheiser will also award 'ultimate sound experience' trips to New York, London and Tokyo.

To learn more, watch the films or to submit videos, visit www.sennheiser-momentum.com. Even more MOMENTUM videos can be found on www.youtube.com/sennheisermomentum.

About Nik Nowak:
Nik Nowak was born in Mainz and now lives in Berlin. The 33-year-old artist studied in Berlin, New York and Shanghai and explores various artistic genres - from the visual arts, to music productions and drawing. He has exhibited his work in China, Germany, Hungary and Russia.

As a big fan of the ghetto blasters and dancehall sound systems of the 1980s, Nowak's life work explores the themes of sound projection, the interaction of music in public and private spheres, and the interface between man and machine. His is best known for its distinctive mechanical hybrids of sound systems and vehicles, most prominently "Soundtank".

About Sennheiser:
Sennheiser is a world-leading manufacturer of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. Established in 1945 in Wedemark, Germany, Sennheiser is now a global brand represented in 60 countries around the world with U.S. headquarters in Old Lyme, Conn. Sennheiser's pioneering excellence in technology has rewarded the company with numerous awards and accolades including an Emmy, a Grammy, and the Scientific and Engineering Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

You can find all the latest information on Sennheiser by visiting our website at http://www.sennheiserusa.com.

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