Let yourself go, depart from traffic-choked urban reality, and immerse yourself in a nebulous world of modern art and sound. It’s Audium, the Shaff family’s Other-Galaxy experience, going strong over nearly half a century, mostly 100 times a year.

On the surface, Audium is an hour-long sonic foray into a latter-day musique concrète , first created by the Frenchman Pierre Schaeffer in the mid-20th century—a combination of found sounds and electronic ones. But it’s delivered in total darkness, with all smartphones switched off. And, setting the stage, it is  preceded by a gallery of visual stimuli with nebulous, restful  projections putting you into the other space, far-off, maneuvered only by your imagination. The gallery’s waiting room sets the stage for the sonic experience inside, where you need not be stoned to be transported.

Tranquility is the keynote at Audium, a psychological deep state bringing in sounds that move about the listening room unpredictably—now here, now there, via more than 100 speakers, in the facility’s most unusual feature. Bird chirps, gurgling Yellowstone fumaroles, speeding express trains, distant human voices, ethereal rhythmic chimes, a music box, soft jazz, a muted trumpet, rushing vehicles, and plain-vanilla new-age electronic sound—–all pre-recoded,  thrust into the blender and manipulated by jaunty operator David Shaff, sitting almost invisible on a pulpit.

I’d have opted for more continuity in sound and mood, going from point A to B to C, instead of the rather random mix that’s offered. But the randomness seems to bother few; our recently attended concert in the 49-seat site was full, with  no walkouts by the crowd of millennials, not even during the brief intermission. A few will doze off (Advice: just don’t snore loudly!).

The current composition, Audium’s 10th, was launched last year, half of it retaining founder Stan Shaff’s earlier creation, half of it now assembled and composed by son David. The offering has been constantly revised. Previous versions offered vaguely overheard children’s voices from local playgrounds and beaches, and they featured speakers occasionally whirling overhead on a large rotating ring, along with,  in the foyer, a Daliesque projected wall clock.

According to David, the crowds keep coming, a good 5,000 a year, even though Audium runs no  ads at all. It can make a claim to the longest-running show in these parts, a decade older than even “Beach Blanket Babylon,” thriving entirely word of mouth, plus a handful of reviews. I  found myself once again drawn into that Other-Galaxy virtual reality of Audium, drinking in one of San Francisco’s innumerable unique experiences and floating off in its friendly, carefree outer space.

Audium, a sound-sculptured space, hour-long concerts running typically Friday and Saturday nights, at 1616 Bush, San Francisco. $20. For info:  (415) 771-1616, or go online.

Click to share our review: