A Phase-Coherent Paradigm for Audio-Laser Synthesis

Mike Cassidy, and Kristian North

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

Audio–laser synthesis—where the same signals driving laser beam trajectory are simultaneously sonified—poses a distinct instrument design challenge: developing a unified signal architecture that encodes sound, motion, and colour without reducing the expressive range available to each modality. These requirements are well-suited to modular synthesis approaches, but scaling such systems beyond exploratory patches requires architectural principles for sustaining temporal stability across domains. This paper presents a paradigm for audio–laser synthesis that maintains phase coherence throughout complex modular graphs. By establishing phase as a shared temporal reference for organising sonic, geometric, and colour domains, this paradigm enables systems to reliably scale in both size and complexity. We demonstrate this approach through [Anonymous], a VCV Rack plugin suite that extends audio-laser synthesis practice towards parity with contemporary modular synthesis. Through architectural description and performance-based validation, this work establishes design principles for modular audio-laser systems.

Citation

Mike Cassidy, and Kristian North. 2026. A Phase-Coherent Paradigm for Audio-Laser Synthesis. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20784380 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_121,
 abstract = {Audio–laser synthesis—where the same signals driving laser beam trajectory are simultaneously sonified—poses a distinct instrument design challenge: developing a unified signal architecture that encodes sound, motion, and colour without reducing the expressive range available to each modality. These requirements are well-suited to modular synthesis approaches, but scaling such systems beyond exploratory patches requires architectural principles for sustaining temporal stability across domains. This paper presents a paradigm for audio–laser synthesis that maintains phase coherence throughout complex modular graphs. By establishing phase as a shared temporal reference for organising sonic, geometric, and colour domains, this paradigm enables systems to reliably scale in both size and complexity. We demonstrate this approach through [Anonymous], a VCV Rack plugin suite that extends audio-laser synthesis practice towards parity with contemporary modular synthesis. Through architectural description and performance-based validation, this work establishes design principles for modular audio-laser systems.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {121},
 author = {Mike Cassidy and Kristian North},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20784380},
 editor = {Benedict Gaster and João Tragtenberg and Anna Xambó and Tom Mitchell},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {},
 numpages = {6},
 pages = {987--992},
 presentation-video = {https://youtu.be/AijVBGgsAd8},
 title = {A Phase-Coherent Paradigm for Audio-Laser Synthesis},
 track = {paper},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_121.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}