DVD Audio with Surround and Stereo version of Studie 18. In Studie 18, Neukom takes a natural and mathematical phenomenon, the golden ratio, as the basis for the patterns in his thirteen studies, all 3.19 minutes in length. The golden ratio, a mathematical constant, is at the centre of many aspects of beauty and regularity in nature, science, art and architecture, as well as being a core component of the minimalism, preciseness and refined aesthetics of Neukom's compositions. The golden ratio has fascinated many artists and scientists over the past 2400 years, from Leonardo da Vinci to Erik Satie, who has used the golden ratio in many of his compositions. In the 18.x studies, series of sounds are arranged regularly in space and in the parametric sound space. The rules that generate pitches, spectra, time and location of the individual sounds are very simple but are chosen in such a way that structures emerge out of the regular stream. In all the studies, the organization of the pitches is the same: it follows the same principle as the arrangement of the seeds, leaves or thorns of certain plants. The arrangement of sound in space is realized with the Ambisonics surround system. In the different studies, duration, loudness, spectrum, location and movement of the individual sounds and various parameters of the arrangement of the pitches and of the density are varied.