Hello
The last month here has been one extended industrial soundscape, as builders are currently working on the house, demolishing, drilling, sanding, tanking, and damp proofing. Combine this with the drama of pipes spraying water everywhere, live electrical cables and a general sense of panic, and it’s as if the ghost of legendary industrial groups SPK and Einstürzende Neubauten have united for an extended private concert.
Somehow, in the midst of this, I’m managed to continue working, albeit on a more administrative level, or else it’s just a battle of volumes.
A Chat with SonicState about Life, Music and Ghostbusting your House
I did manage to have an entertaining chat with SonicState recently, who have been sharing reviews, interviews and tech reveals since 1995. They are an amazing resource for musicians, so it was a real pleasure to engage in this conversation. Curiously, we barely touched on technology at all, instead talking about ghostbusting your house, keeping things fun, poetry, recording my staircase and much more. Listen back here.
By The Code of Soil Returns
By the Code of Soil, my intermedia installation with digital artist Kasia Molga, is currently on display as part of a group show, The Garden and the Hedge, at KUBU in Finland.
The work emerged from the GROW Observatory programme (2016-19), a European citizen science project, that used low-cost soil sensors to collect data on soil moisture, temperature, and light levels. Aimed at empowering communities to monitor their soils and contribute to environmental research, particularly satellite data.
As part of this project, Kasia and I drew on the soil data captured from the moisture sensors, as well as the flight path of the European Space Agency’s flagship satellite, Sentinel-1A, which passes overhead twice a day and captures data such as forestry, agriculture and weather conditions to support climate prediction modelling. As the satellite passed over the audiences’ location, the artwork appeared on their computer screens.
As the art work was based on data that was constantly generated, the graphic and sonic form the artwork took on the screen changed each time. The video work presented at KUBU is an artefact of this durational work. Viewed as speculative audio-visual and spoken word narrative, it considers what it means to speak on behalf of soil.
KUBU is an artist-run, independent space dedicated to transdisciplinary artistic practice, environmental sustainability, and community engagement. The exhibition continues until the end of August 2025.
On Stage Antics Around the World
A fair few rather unique live shows are approaching soon. Continuing the Finnish flavour, I’m off to Helsinki for my first visit in twenty years. I’m running a special modular workshop in the afternoon at Teatteri Union, talking through how I perform live with such a set up, then there’s a hands-on session with gear for all attendees. Tickets are very limited for this so reserve one here. Then that very same evening I will be performing a live set in the theatre itself. Tickets available here.
It’s off to Turin Italy then to perform at Gallerie d’Italia for the opening of Dutch visual artist Erik Kessel’s new exhibition, which looks set to be an extraordinary occasion. ‘Erik Kessels. An image’ will be a multimedia installation composed of over 60 images from Intesa Sanpaolo’s Publifoto Archive, all “stitched” and “transformed” to form a single, continuously moving photograph thanks to the aid of artificial intelligence.
In this Immersive Room, visitors will be able to participate in a seamless visual and instrumental theatre in which our present, the past, the world, and life emerge through a soundtrack in which the mystical and the electronic alternate and dissolve. The musical score is specially composed by myself and the amazing Italian musician Stefano Pilia.
To mark the launch on Wednesday 10 September we will be performing a unique live set to celebrate. This is not a public event unfortunately, it’s invitation only. BUT if you’d like to come along please let me know by responding to this newsletter, and I can add you to the exclusive guest list! It would be amazing to see you there! BUT you need to do this with some urgency.
The installation will continue to run daily at Gallerie d’Italia until 7 October 2025
A couple of weeks later I’m appearing in a very intimate live show in London at SJQ Dalston. This will be most definitely up front and personal, in that the space is tiny, but I love performing in such an environment. And, for this event, there will be an extremely limited-edition vinyl release, in just a handful of copies, with original unreleased material, unavailable anywhere else, just for this one night. Tickets available here.
GRIMM Returns to the Stage
GRIMM is returning to the stage in 2026 too. I wrote the score to this back in 2018 for an exciting collaboration between the Junior Company Dutch National Ballet and ISH Dance Collective, an encounter between ballet and hip-hop. The two dance styles complemented one another in a spectacular way in GRIMM, and the soundtrack has proven to be extremely popular.
Sadly, like many projects. the pandemic halted proceedings and a huge tour of the work had to be cancelled, but thankfully our patience has been rewarded with an enormous tour around the Netherlands in 2026, appearing at 31 venues, so far! More information can be found here. Tickets go on sale on 28 August.
Speaking of the pandemic, like many other people, I managed to record a phenomenal amount of work during this period, and was recently reminded of an unreleased project that really needs finishing ready for release one day. It’s a collaboration with my oldest sonic friend Stephen Vitiello, where we channelled the spirit of Chicago post rock with a punk energy. Here’s an example of this.
EarSpace Episode 25 on the Airwaves
As regular as clockwork, my radio show EarSpace is now available to listen to. Broadcast on digital radio in Brighton, Manchester and soon to be London, you can also listen back online.
For Episode 25 I bring you sounds from the past, present and future of electronic music. There’s new music from Andrea Cichecki, Holden & Zimpel, Jo Johnson, Tammo Hesselink and Ben Frost. We celebrate the 90s with The Black Dog and The Sabres of Paradise, and get industrial with Coil and Drew McDowall, and plenty more. And, don’t forget, you can tune in to all the previous episodes here.
So, now it’s time to put on my PPE, mask, goggles and earplugs and get cleaning, varnishing, polishing, painting and more. So much for summer holidays!
Warmest wishes
Professor Scanner
::: listen :::
Nick Drake: The Making of Five Leaves Left (Island)
Jo Johnson: Escape Now (Quiet Details)
Carl Craig: Desire (Planet E)
Mark Stewart: The Fateful Symmetry (Mute)
::: read :::
Mickalene Thomas: All About Love (Hayward)
Dylan Thomas: The Beach of Falesa (Panther)
Ian Gibson: The Erotomaniac (Faber & Faber)
The World of Film Posters for Andrei Tarkovsky (Disk Union)
::: watch :::
Ali & Ava: Clio Barnard
Echo Valley: Michael Pearce
The Listeners: Janicza Bravo
Alps: Yorgos Lanthimos
