Halina Rice: Sonic Worlds and Immersive Storytelling with MusicRadar Tech

Halina Rice’s journey is not just a tale of musical evolution, but a migration from the familiar into the unknown—a crossing from classical roots and childhood curiosity into the nebula of immersive electronic performance. Early encounters with analog synths in her brother’s room planted seeds of wonder, which would later bloom into a career that fuses technology, emotion, and space. Her story unfolds like a slow-motion underwater explosion: each step, from hesitant piano sketches to a record deal and self-released tracks, is a ripple expanding outward.

But it’s in the live experience where Rice’s vision truly ignites. Her performances are not mere recitals—they are enveloping environments, meticulously crafted to transport audiences elsewhere. At Abbey Road Studios, a chance to reprogram her set for spatial audio opened a portal to new dimensions, leading her to experiment with 12.1 surround systems and custom lighting. The result is a performance that doesn’t just fill a room, but transforms it, inviting listeners to drift inside a world of haze, light, and magnetic resonance.

Rice’s creativity is a dance between senses—a dialogue where sound, light, and image become inseparable. She draws inspiration from immersive installations and artists who dissolve the boundaries between art and environment. Working closely with visual designer Franny Anthony, Rice approaches each track as a narrative, building mood boards and sculpting visuals that echo the emotional arc of her music. The result is a unified message: audio, visuals, and lighting pulse together, each element breathing in sync.

Tracks like “Glitch” become living organisms, swelling and contracting as visuals bloom and fade into darkness. Lighting is not an afterthought but a co-conspirator, programmed to mirror sonic shifts and emotional tides. For Rice, every detail is intentional—lights hung in unexpected places, haze drifting through the venue, all conspiring to grant the audience permission to step outside themselves and into a shared dreamscape.

The path to immersive performance is rarely smooth. Rice faces the challenge of adapting her vision to the shifting realities of different venues, each with its own technological landscape. She becomes not just a composer, but an event architect—balancing production calls, technical limitations, and the evolving expectations of audiences hungry for more than just sound.

Some venues now embrace LED screens and spatial audio, while others remain rooted in stereo. Rice’s approach is fluid: her shows work in both realms, but she relishes the opportunities that advanced systems provide. Whether conjuring a 14.1.5 L-Acoustics array or distilling her set for a classic stereo stage, she remains attuned to the space, letting the architecture of each venue shape the contours of her sonic storytelling.

Rice’s creative arsenal is both practical and poetic. Ableton Live is her anchor—a canvas for sketching ideas, arranging journeys, and integrating triggers for immersive shows. She delights in the tactile magic of plugins like XLN Audio RC-20 Retro Color, which infuse her tracks with spectral warmth and unpredictable textures. Yet she warns of the hidden ghosts—like noise units that can haunt a mix if left unchecked.

Perhaps her most valuable insight is the importance of clearing technical obstacles to let creativity flow. With support from services like Yellow Technology, Rice sidesteps the labyrinth of troubleshooting, freeing herself to chase inspiration rather than solutions. For her, the real innovation lies not just in tools, but in the ability to remain present in the act of creation—each moment an invitation to drift deeper into the story of sound.