Sound Generator is Sound UK’s research and development (R&D) programme that supports early career music and sound artists and seeds the development of an ambitious new project.
The programme supports artists in the first 5-10 years of their career. Over the next six months, they will each be mentored by a range of professionals to develop and test an innovative new project, ready for the next stage of full commissioning and public engagement.
The projects:
- a new live performance piece exploring the acoustic world of underwater life
- a large-scale, interactive community synth machine
- a project exploring the Outer Hebrides and Gaelic song culture
- an immersive outdoor performance piece for kites, exploring clean air, landscape and community
- a project exploring our relationship with plants through micro listening and machine technologies
- a live show merging female-empowered folk songs with atmospheric electronic music.
Introducing our 2024 Sound Generator artists:
Photo by Joe Mannion.
An-Ting 安婷 is a multidisciplinary artist who thrives in piano, electronic compositions, and various other forms of artistic expression, described by NOTION as ‘the one-to-watch in the world of composing.’
Her background presents a unique fusion of science and art, holding a degree in Chemistry from National Taiwan University, alongside a MMus and PhD in performance from the Royal Academy of Music. Between 2018 and 2023, she led the National Portfolio Organisation Kakilang, placing emphasis on establishing an artist-led structure, generating new narratives by Southeast and East Asian artists, and encouraging cross-artform collaborations.
Through Sound Generator, An-Ting plans to develop Underwater, a new live performance project exploring the acoustic world of underwater life. Using hydrophones, she will record sounds from coral, fish, and other sea life, integrating them into new electronic music. An-Ting will explore techniques to create and manipulate sounds in real-time to create a unique underwater soundscape and engaging live performance.
“The quality of An-Ting’s work immediately stood out. Visually and sonically striking and something I could sit with for a long time. The artist’s practice is confident and well researched with the different subjects they explore.” Laura Ducceschi, Creative/Curator/Producer and Sound Generator Judge 2024
Arun Sood is a Scottish-Indian writer, musician, academic, and intermedia artist working across multiple forms. Through working creatively and critically with archives, found sound, and composition, his work explores cultural memory, diasporic identities, song cultures, and the intersections between personal heritage, colonial histories, and climate futures.
Arun will research and develop 'Brown Hebrideans', a project conceived with collaborator Angeline Morrison, that explores their relationship with the Outer Hebrides and Gaelic song culture. Arun plans to develop a series of multi-channel sound works and video installations that fuse archival materials with spoken word, samples, and synthesis, exploring sound and archival film in a manner that destabilises fixed notions of tradition, heritage, and language.
“Arun Sood has a really beautiful and delicate approach to putting together work, he is a collage artist pulling from a very broad range of creative skills to craft immersive and deeply moving musical experiences. 'Brown Hebrideans' feels like a very personal project for him and with the time and space gained from Sound Generator he has the opportunity to really go deep with it. So very exciting!” Marco Woolf, Artist and Sound Generator Judge 2024
Welsh performer-composer Madame Ceski's work explores rural culture, traditions & environment, through contemporary experimentation and improvisation. Her multidisciplinary output varies from sound, song, video, graphic score, installation to social practice. Over the past year Madame Ceski has been exploring climate justice within her practice (Codi BWM! with Articulture & OCM), leading towards kinetic sound work.
Through the programme, Madame Ceski plans to research and develop a new live, immersive outdoor performance piece exploring clean air, landscape and community through a playful soundscape. Titled ‘Kite Song’, the work will be performed by the public and will weave together sounds of aeolian whistling kites alongside a roaming multichannel vocal composition. Through the simple act of kite flying and freely moving through Nature, the work aims to connect people to the land, the sky and each other.
“I get a strong sense of the visual impact and the excitement the community involved could feel about Kite Song. I’m excited for Francesca to bring her vision to life.” Lloyd Francis, Grants Coordinator, PRS Foundation, and Sound Generator Judge 2024
francescasimmons.com (Madame Ceski)
Hang Linton is a self-taught, interdisciplinary artist, working in music, performance, dance, video, sculpture and installation. Their practice explores otherness through sound, non-linear time concepts, community and public art. Splicing avant-funk, dance-punk, ambient and breakbeats, their art is a rebellion against clean aesthetics and capitalist structures, inspired by past experiences, changing global events and the ugliness in the world. Armed with a sampler and synths, Hang bends your ear around the counterculture sounds and movements that have shaped them.
Hang is inspired by the idea of activating public spaces with sound, transforming mundane places into engaging environments. Through Sound Generator, they plan to research and develop their idea of creating a large-scale, interactive community synth machine, which could tour to different cities across the UK and Europe. They plan to learn soldering and the electronic principles behind building synths and effects pedals, then combine this new knowledge with their skills in carpentry and ceramics to build a fun and inviting sound machine.
“There is something infectious about Hang's approach to music, it is wild, deep and playful in equal measures. He is an artist that can offer something truly unique and I'm super excited to see how his Synth Surveyor project progresses.” Marco Woolf, Artist and Sound Generator Judge 2024
Pheobe riley Law is an installation artist with a focus in sound, performance, photography, and sculptural activation. Using a symbiotic approach, she builds dialogues between different bodies, borders and devices to activate flexible new relationships. Her recent installation and performance Machine Equities explores the sonic landscape of machines as actors and singing collaborators. Previous and ongoing explorations focus on: the relationship we have to the natural world; machine technologies as our collaborators; the role salt has on aquatic life and the activation of micro-worlds such as moss, soil and motorised machines.
Through Sound Generator Pheobe will continue to develop her ideas around micro listening and machine technologies as our sonic collaborators for a new project around tending; thinking about how collaborating and listening with the non-human can inform our perspective and adjust these interactions. Called ‘Vegetal Empathy’, Phoebe will use specialist microphones to explore how we care for, activate and collaborate with the vegetal. She will experiment with multiple human and non-human performers to develop a new performative installation.
“Loved the title, it immediately captured something for me. I appreciate the artist is prepared to step into risk and I can see how it will expand Phoebe’s practice and have a broad engagement potential.” Laura Ducceschi, Creative/Curator/Producer and Sound Generator Judge 2024
Photo by Emily Doyle.
Birmingham's Rosie Tee is a composer and performer that conjures technicolour narratives from electronics, jazz, psych and avant-pop. Finding joy in the experimental corners of songwriting, Tee crafts folkloric lyrics that float above hypnotic electronic sound worlds. Laced with intricate orchestrations from her quartet, together they forge "glorious colours & textures" (The Quietus) and "jazz-licked psyche-noise abstraction" (The Arts Desk).
Rosie Tee will use Sound Generator to research and develop Rosie Tee 'and other creatures...', a live electronic set merging female-empowered folk songs with atmospheric electronic music. Her recent album 'Night Creature' delves into tales of 'Kikimora,' an East-European female house-spirit depicted as a moth-like creature - reflecting the nocturnal, psychedelic nature of her music. She plans to research stories of fantastical female figures in folklore. Samples of haunting folk vocal melodies will be manipulated live through pedals, paired with electronic synths and beat-based productions.
“Rosie continues to innovate with music, and bringing Folk and EDM music genres together will be super intriguing. I’m pleased Rosie will build this project and continue her development as a Sound Generator 2024 artist.” Lloyd Francis, Grants Coordinator, PRS Foundation, and Sound Generator Judge 2024
