Friday 2 May

Pali is part of an ongoing project of embedded practice within the elderly Nepali community of Woolwich, south-east London. This neighbourhood is home to the UK’s most significant Gurkha veteran population. The ongoing nature of the project allows for relationships to emerge in meaningful ways, from what may otherwise be an extractive process. The lines between subject and object are intentionally blurred in this work, and the project more generally. Crossing cultural, age-related and linguistic barriers among others, is a shared love of music.

Biography

Dr. Angela McArthur is an artist, academic and interdisciplinary advocate. She leads a Master’s programme in spatial sound in the department of Anthropology at University College London. She has undertaken many artist residencies and interdisciplinary collaborations, as well as publishing work. She works with the IKO loudspeaker and other spatial systems, and her research interests include spatial aesthetics, underrepresented and non-human onto-epistemologies. She champions diversity in access and representation for spatial technologies and media.

Samothraki is an electroacoustic composition shaped by site-specific fieldwork on the Greek island of the same name. Built from environmental recordings of its landscapes and ancient Sanctuary of the Great Gods, the piece explores how sound can document place, memory, and shifting cultural histories.

Developed in collaboration with local communities, Samothraki integrates reflections on sensory experience, with voices and textures weaving into an acousmatic narrative. Premiered on the island and supported by the Greek National Opera, the piece translates place into sound—inviting listeners into a layered sonic encounter with history and landscape.

Biography

George Edmondson is a sonic artist, researcher, and educator whose work explores sound as a tool for ethnographic inquiry and social engagement. His research investigates collaborative sound-making as a means of documenting identity, place, and memory, working across diverse communities in the UK, Greece, and beyond. He has presented compositions and research internationally, with performances at MANTIS (Manchester), SEAMUS, New York, Athens, Epidaurus, Samothraki, Portugal, BEAST, and New Zealand. His recent work examines how sound can serve as an expressive and interactive method of co-authored storytelling within migratory and post-industrial contexts.

The Birmingham Companion to East–West Politics reflects on the early divide in analogue synthesis paradigms in the United States, between East Coast and West Coast philosophies (exemplified by Moog and Buchla). Rather than replicating their differences, the piece attempts to resolve them through contemporary digital methods. Original recordings from modular systems by both manufacturers provided the basis for new material, synthesised using AI and various microsonic techniques. Somewhat ironically, digital technology, so often reduced to binaries, becomes a fluid medium through which this historical analogue dichotomy is dissolved.

Biography

Gianni Bencich-Grigore is a composer of electroacoustic music whose work explores experimental forms of sound synthesis and emerging audio technologies. His practice focuses on the interaction between the aesthetic and spectromorphological qualities of electronic sound, with a particular interest in how these shape our perception of the real.

Silek, a traditional martial art, is often presented through dance or performance art. This time, however, Silek will be expressed in a musical form, utilizing the most organic sounds derived from the body, movement, and soundscapes. Furthermore, the collaboration between the body, interactive electronics, and live coding practices introduces Silek to new realms of sonic experiences and innovations in performance practice. The integration of an immersive presentation system adds another layer of innovation, enabling the movement patterns of Silek to be “projected” in space, surrounding and enveloping the audience.

Silek training incorporates three fundamental components: psychology, Minangkabau philosophy, and spirituality. The synthesis of these elements within Silek training generates both physical and spiritual benefits. Physically, Silek develops physical abilities and kinesthetic intelligence. Spiritually, Silek cultivates qualities such as character strength, ego control, emotional intelligence, mental resilience, mastery over desires, and faith in the supreme entity, God.

In practice, this holistic approach enhances the adaptability and flexibility of Silek practitioners, enabling them to respond effectively to natural phenomena at any time and in any environment. Although Silek can function as a combative practice—since its training involves two individuals engaging in controlled attacks—the philosophy and values intrinsic to

Silek emphasize a humanistic paradigm. One of the most prominent Silek philosophies is “Lahia Silek mancari kawan, batin Silek mancari tuhan,” which translates to “Physically, Silek seeks to build relationships with others, while spiritually, it seeks to bring individuals closer to God.”

In the contemporary context, PANJAGO’s work holds significance not only as a preservation of ancestral knowledge but also as a renewal and collaborative evolution of traditions. PANJAGO embodies the foundational value of adaptability, which is crucial for humanity in navigating rapid technological advancements. It underscores the need for individuals to exercise self-control and interact with one another with moral and humanistic awareness.

PANJAGO: Body – Sound – Improvisation, will form a unique combination of the traditional movement art of Silek, 360 degree immersive electronic music, and improvisation using ‘live coding’ techniques and interactive electronic music systems.

In this project, the sonic world of Silek is searching for a friendship through electronic and live improvisation collaboration. The development of Silek in musical performance has been pioneered by Efenur, and he is now pursuing his doctoral research on Silek and body sound composition. This collaboration will expand this perspective on the body giving and responding to sounds. Signals captured from Efenur’s performance will provide input for musical responses by Jambak and Wilson, presented in hyper ‘surround sound’ over the 32 channel BEASTdome system. This system was recently re-outfitted, and offers leading edge possibilities for immersive audio presentation.

The collaboration between past and future is well captured in this work. How traditional art can be shaped into a new form of modern performance with advanced technology has been a particular interest in Jambak’s practice. Wilson’s contributions will employ ‘live coding’, an emerging practice for improvised computer-based art which allows music-generating algorithms to be rewritten while they are running.

Biographies

Rani Jambak

Rani Jambak, a prominent composer, producer, field recordist, instrument designer, and vocalist of Minangkabau heritage from Medan, is deeply engaged in exploring electronic music and soundscapes sourced from various regions across Indonesia. Her extensive body of work frequently examines themes surrounding nature, socio-cultural dynamics, and the intricate relationship between humanity and ancestral heritage.

Pursuing a profound exploration of cultural identity as a Minangkabau individual, Rani’s artistic practice delves into the philosophical dimensions of Minangkabau traditions and investigates how ancestral wisdom can offer responses to modernity. Additionally, her work envisions the concept of future ancestors, grounded in spiritual values that are critically essential in contemporary life. As part of her creative endeavors, Rani has designed instruments inspired by the traditional Minangkabau watermill, Kincia Aia. This innovation serves as both a critique of the climate crisis’s impact and an effort to reinterpret ancestral knowledge in a novel dimension. Moreover, Rani, in collaboration with Hario, has developed performances rooted in the 19th-century manuscript, Tambo Alam Minangkabau, in partnership with Naskah Sumatra of SOAS University of London. In 2025, she introduced her installation piece, Pusako nan Sabana Tinggi (The Most Precious Legacy), a 20-minute sound composition featured at ASIA Topa.

In recognition of her groundbreaking contributions to sound, music, and technology, Jambak received The Oram Award in 2022.

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M. Hario Efenur

M. Hario Efenur is a distinguished composer, researcher, and multi-instrumentalist of Minangkabau descent, residing in Lasi, West Sumatra. He creates an array of musical works, spanning body music to experimental compositions. Hario established the music group Candasuara, drawing inspiration from Silek, the traditional Minangkabau martial art. Through this group, he delves into and reimagines the body sounds of Silek, transforming them into innovative compositions that are both performative and interactive. By incorporating elements of aesthetics, kinesthetics, and social interaction into each performance, Hario strives to inspire critical thought regarding the role of the body as a source of sound and artistic expression.

In addition to his solo endeavors, Hario actively engages in collaborative projects that merge music and visual arts, alongside exploring technological applications in musical composition. His works have graced national and international stages, affirming his role in advancing contemporary music and enriching discussions on cultural identity. Furthermore, Hario and his wife founded Rumah Gagas, an artistic laboratory and creative space dedicated to fostering contemporary and experimental performances. Rumah Gagas functions as a hub for collaboration between local and international artists, facilitating vibrant and dynamic cultural exchanges. This initiative not only cultivates artistic growth but also contributes to the global promotion of cultural heritage.

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Scott Wilson

Canadian-born Scott Wilson is the co-director of BEAST and director of the Electroacoustic Music Studios at the University of Birmingham, where he is Professor of Composition and Electronic Music. Primarily a composer, his works have been presented internationally, and include compositions for both instrumental and electroacoustic forces, as well as structured improvisations for networked music ensembles (usually with BEER, the Birmingham Ensemble for Electroacoustic Research). He has been active in developing software for BEAST and new approaches for large-scale multichannel electroacoustic composition. He is also active in the development of the SuperCollider computer music language, and was the lead editor of The SuperCollider Book, published by MIT Press.

The climate crisis is – or should be – a global unifier; in practice, marginalised and indigenous cultures suffer the most. ‘Two Lakes’ highlights communities displaced by ‘progress’: a Welsh-speaking village drowned to create the Llyn Celyn reservoir, and Quechula in Mexico, founded by Spanish colonists displacing an earlier culture, then itself submerged to create Lake Nezahualcóyotl. During increasingly frequent climate-change-induced droughts ruined buildings emerge as reminders not only of past cultural injustices, but the present-day crisis facing all cultures.

‘Two Lakes’ was awarded the Prix CIME in 2023. Materials were shaped using data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (EU) and the National River Flow Archive (UK), with thanks to Dr Iestyn Woolway for his help.

Biography

Andrew Lewis studied composition with Jonty Harrison at the University of Birmingham where he was one of the original members of BEAST. He is currently Professor of Composition at Bangor University where he directs the work of the Electroacoustic Music Studios. His music is concerned with the materiality of perceived sound, and often uses technology in its realisation and performance. He is best known for his acousmatic music, but also composes chamber and orchestral music, with or without electronics. He is married with four grown-up daughters, and lives in North Wales.

This piece began initially with a sound that caught my attention. While exploring my hard drive for possible samples to work with, I came across a recording I had downloaded as part of a sample pack from RE:VIVE – a project run by Sound & Vision, the national media archive of the Netherlands, which encourages the creative reuse of audiovisual heritage in new musical contexts. The recording was unnamed, but through investigation, I discovered it to be titled “Indian Kokyū”, taken from Volume 8 of the Daitōa Ongaku Shūsei (Greater East Asian Music Collection), compiled in 1942 by Hisao Tanabe.

Though the title references the kokyū, a bowed Japanese instrument, the recording itself is most likely a performance on the sarangi, a bowed string instrument central to Hindustani classical music. Hisao Tanabe was a Japanese musicologist whose work focused on documenting the traditional music of East and Southeast Asia—an effort that, ironically, has itself become obscure or partially lost.

Ghosts is a piece built around that recording. The sample is first heard processed through the Morphagene module, where it appears faint, glitched and fragmented – like a lost memory surfacing. As the piece progresses, the sample becomes more intelligible, emerging into the present day. Additional modular layers are gradually introduced, responding as if in conversation. By the end, the recording recedes again, leaving only traces – ghosts of the past.

Biography

Richard Boxley

Richard Boxley is a composer, performer, and researcher based in the UK, specialising in modular synthesis and electronic music composition. Currently pursuing a PhD in Composition at the University of Birmingham, his research explores the role of creative constraints in shaping compositional processes within modular synthesis systems. His work investigates how structured approaches to composition foster innovation and expand creative potential.

Interruptions dominate this composition, acting as pauses, abrupt stops, moments cut short and held breaths. These moments represent the many interruptions experienced in my daily life, in work, activities and composing. Interruptions are temporal states where continuity is ceased but then resumed or returned to after the interrupting event is over. In this work, interruptions are positioned as the main event; acting as focal points and instances to explore the creative potential of these typically unwanted occurrences. There are many different types of interruptions constructed throughout the composition. These show the different outcomes between successful versus unsuccessful interruptions, those that form segues to those that forcefully threaten and break down sound’s continuous presence. This creative experimentation with many interruptions is set within the context of home life and home sounds. These sounds tell a story, imitating interruptions to flow, being in the home for extended periods and all this entails.

Biography

Manuella Blackburn is an electroacoustic music composer who specializes in acousmatic music creation. Her music is focused on intricate details and the clustering and careful arrangement of small sounds within clear, polished sound worlds. Her sound recording of everyday objects, environments and instruments make their way into new pieces through the transformation of the ordinary into the fantastical. Manuella’s music has been performed at concerts, festivals, conferences and gallery exhibitions in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the USA. Manuella is currently based at Keele University (England, UK) and is a Reader in Electronic Music and Sound Design.

I had a chance to witness a traditional Korean exorcism gut performance called the Keon-Guk: Sam-Si-Wang-Maji, which involves a possessed shaman in Jeju serving their ancestor spirits. There is an important tradition of Gut in Jeju that has its own unique identity; however, some parts of the spirits have become emaciated due to the increasing reliance on science and technology during the recent neoliberalism period. All of the sonic materials used for the piece are from Jeju, and it has a purpose with an open ending.

Biography

Seongah Shin studied composition at Chugye University; Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University; in Sound Design and Theatre Technology from the Performing Art College, and a doctoral degree in Composition from the Conservatory at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Her works have been performed over the years at prestigious venues including ICMC, SICMF, ACMP, SEAMUS, June in Buffalo, EMS, Seoul International Experimental Film Festival, Seoul International Performing Art Festival, MUSICACOUSTICA, Missouri Repertory Theatre, and many others. She worked as the co-founder of ACMP (Asia Computer Music Project) and founder of Thin Black Line Project in Seoul since 2007. In addition, she is a professor in the Composition Department at the Music & Performing Art College at Keimyung University in South Korea.

Bernard Parmegiani is a well-known electroacoustic music composer who explored the possibility of creating music compositions by manipulating pre-recorded samples. This live performance will imitate how he created his significant composition, De Natura Sonorum, with a touch of modular synthesizer flavour.

Biography

Pradit Saengkrai is a multimedia artist and a teacher at the Conservatory of Music, Rangsit University. He collaborated with many composers and visual artists. His recent work is the score for a multimedia installation “Our Place in Their World”, exhibited at the Venice Biennale 2024. He also uses modular synthesizers as a tool for his composition alongside Max and Supercollider for live coding performances.

THE VAGRANAUT’S CROSSING

Traffic Incident Report: Surveillance cameras report a suspicious individual shouting at traffic on the Main Highway. Please investigate.

THE ORACLE

Abstract: Recent advances in psychometric game theory and algebraic hand-waving have converged in the promising new field of Artificial Wisdom. Our newly developed interface, Oracle-2, is currently in the testing stage (warning signal sounds ……)

THE MISSION

Mission Statement: GFT ® announce a rigorous selection process for The Mission. We expect to have a highly qualified team assembled by the time the escape vehicle is launch-ready. Judging will commence!

THE RALLY

Press Release: We are proud to present another Great Leader© who, as is customary, will solve all your problems – in return for your unwavering loyalty.

THE FOREST PATH

Recommended Route: Cross the stile and follow the path that enters the wood. After a short ascent, cross a stream. Continue through trees into open country until the summit is reached.

THE NEGOTIATIONS

From our Foreign Correspondent: Intense negotiations are continuing over matters of mutual concern. We are unable to throw any light on the progress of these talks.

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Performers of vocal source material and other collaborators

The Oracle: Lore Lixenberg and First Year Choir of the Royal Conservatory, Den Haag.

The Negotiations: Marie Guilleray, Áslákur Ingvarsson.

The Vagranaut: Martin Riley, with Jacqueline Wishart.

Music for “Limbo”: Ben Eyes, University of York.

Bureaucrats, Mission1: Students & staff, York St. Johns University.

Judges, Interrogators: Luke Dickson, John Mee, Rebecca Riley, Maggi Stratford.

Brass players: Honor Hornsby, Martha Dean, Samuel Gibb.

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Special Thanks to the Konrad Boehmer Foundation

Biography

Trevor Wishart (b. 1946) is a composer/performer from the North of England specialising in sound metamorphosis, and constructing the software to make it possible (Sound Loom / CDP). He has lived and worked as composer-in-residence in Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Mexico and the USA.

He creates music with his own voice, for professional groups, or in imaginary worlds conjured up in the studio. His recent work “The Garden of Earthly Delights” (2021) is a darkly comic take on the human situation using the voices of actors, singers and politicians.

He is also the principle developer of music processing software for the Composer’s Desktop Project. His aesthetic and technical ideas are described in the books On Sonic Art, Audible Design and Sound Composition.

In 2008 he was awarded the international Giga-Herz Grand prize for his life’s work, and in 2018 the British Association of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) Award for Innovation.

Whispering Trees is a two-part audio-visual live performance that invites the listener to reimagine the sounds of the forests from the perspective of the forest through an artistic response to sap movements in trees. The performance both imitates this plant process moving upwards to highlight these micro sounds that then interweaves into the sonic textures of the Sap Synth of arpeggiating melodic phrases of altered sap recordings taken from the Wyre Forest to create rhythmical elements, ambient pulses and whispers in the form of an ambient electronic dance piece. The two sections interweave with the live visuals created by visual artist Nic Finch who uses imagery from the Wyre Forest reflecting the interconnectedness of the forest, highlighting elements of the unheard voice through both a visual and sonic context, creating a dialogue between the performer, listener and the forest. The text heard in Whispering Trees is read from ecologist Susan Simards book Finding the Mother Tree, whose research into the interconnectedness of the forest ecosystem she describes as ‘the trees talk to her through showing what to research next’.

Biography

Teddy Hunter is a Cardiff based audio visual artist and electronic musician working in alternative music, immersive audio and ecology. Her practice takes root in sonic arts, exploring the relationship between the vegetal world and the human. This multi-species thinking is embodied through sound by recording trees, altering field recordings, sites specific immersive audio performance-based compositions, and the audio visual to create soundscapes and ambient electronic immersive experiences. Voice is often used in her work as a means to connect and engage with the environment, becoming a mediator between the two worlds and inviting the listener to reflect on their surroundings. Hunter’s current research explores the forest voice of the past, present and future from the perspective of the forest that is expressed through sonic soundscapes hinting on electronic dance music combined with the ambient. Her research currently focuses on three forests; Coed Felenrhyd and Llennyrch (North Wales, Woodland Trust), BIFoR FACE (Birmingham Institute of Forest Research Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment), Wyre Forest (Ruskin Land, Forestry England).

Jim Osman (Soborgnost) performs sci-fi dance punk at the intersection of minimal wave, disco dub, industrial, proto-house, drone, and noise.

Using a hardware sampler to emulate dub mixing and looping post-punk-style basslines with chuggy, lo-fi beats, the project adds warped analogue textures through cassette tape manipulation, electromagnetic frequency transmitters, shortwave radio, harsh noise generators, and dub sirens.

After debuting at last year’s BEAST/Sounding Change event, Soborgnost returns with a new iteration. Past performances include Café OTO and Supernormal Festival, with upcoming appearances at Acid Horse and Braille Satellite.

“A home for tender hearts” is the culmination of Mwen’s time on the University of Birmingham’s Sounding Change artist residency in 2023/24. They’ve been devising a new body of solo work and reinvigorating their practice performing live with Ableton, live instruments, synthesisers and voice and developing their skills integrating spatialised audio into their practice. This new body of work has been created in response to the oppressive anti-gay laws taking an ever firmer strong hold in Uganda and the impact of this on them as a queer, non-binary, diasporic Ugandan.

Biography

Mwen has been working creatively with sound as an artist, producer, composer, DJ and session musician for a number of years. More recently Mwen’s creative output expanded to include sound design and composing for theatre, live performance and film. Mwen’s creative practice melds the worlds of music technology, electronic music, live sound and performance.​

Mwen’s compositions and productions have received airplay on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6, XFM, NTS, Rinse FM, been supported by DJs including Rob da Bank, Mary Anne Hobbs and Tom Robinson, and synced to TV and fashion film.​

Currently, Mwen is based in London and DJs regularly on the London club scene. Mwen is also in-house Ableton tutor at Hub16 Studios in East London and a tutor at The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP).​

In 2023/24, Mwen was an artist in residence at the University of Birmingham’s Music Department Sounding Change Artist Residency Programme.