Half way through the year already, the sun is still shining and that most certainly helps the spirits. One year older here, and perhaps just a little bit wiser.
Eno’s Discreet Music in Prague
May featured an amazing trip to Prague where I performed two classic ambient music works with the ensemble Klang Systematiek. This was such a thrill as we presented two early Obscure Records recordings from 1975 – Brian Eno’s “Discreet Music” and Gavin Bryars “The Singing of the Titanic.”
With violin and viola, bass clarinet, double bass, flute, percussion and electronics, we presented extended versions of both of these classic compositions in the huge industrial space Divadlo X10, deep beneath the streets of a busy Prague centre.
The timing was perfect for the Eno interpretation too, as it was his 78th birthday the very same day, and I received the most touching message from him, thanking us for performing this and saying it was the best birthday present he could have wished for. That made it all worthwhile!
We recorded the show and are already in conversation with a label about a new series of releases, featuring our catalogue of works, including recordings of music by Terry Riley, La Monte Young and others.
Pauline Oliveros & Stockhausen in Prague
I was back in Prague on 10 June for very special performances of works by Pauline Oliveros and Karlheinz Stockhausen with Klang Systematiek again. Set in the incredible venue Libeň Synagogue, we performedthese two transformative works.
The Oliveros features a monumental drone explores the resonant frequencies of the planet and the nature of the shift of Earth’s north and south poles, whilst Stockhausen’s Expo features radio signals, scanned dialogues and cosmic frequencies in dialogue with live instruments. More on this next month!
Alva Noto in Sound on Sound
I’ve recently begun writing a series of features for Sound on Sound, the world’s premier audio recording technology magazine, which continues to publish every month, since 1985. Their invitation to write for the magazine has brought me into conversation with many of my peers, with the first of these being German artist Carsten Nicolai, aka Alva Noto.
At the forefront of electronic music for more than three decades, Carsten has proved that less can indeed be more — and that also extends to the tools he uses. His work occupies a distinctive position at the intersection of sound art, experimental electronic music, natural sciences and visual culture.
We first met in New York City in the mid 1990s and so it was a genuine pleasure to chat with him and learn more about his process and the technology he uses to produce his works. The article features in the June 2026 edition, and stay tuned for more interviews in the near future. Find out more here.
EarSpace on Slack City Radio
EarSpace episode 36 hit the airwaves again on Slack City Radio. This time we slip back in time to hear Flying Lotus and Arovane, get cinematic with Mark Jenkins and meditate with Detroit’s Carl Craig.
Then there’s synthetic joys from Colleen, Sulk Rooms, Plant43, Xordox, and rhythmic intensity from Upsammy & Valentina Magaletti. And let’s not forgot Seefeel, Carl Stone, Yann Novak, Speedy J, Deaf Center and many more in the mix. Tune in here.
Talking about Radiowaves in Sound
I recently made an interview with Bandcamp, focusing on my work with radiowaves. I speak about the risks and joy of relying on live radio signals during performance, saying “Ultimately, it’s about trust: trusting your instincts as a listener, and trusting that the world, as it arrives through the airwaves, already contains a kind of music.”
The article also focuses on other key works around the use of radio, and I was honoured to sit alongside John Cage, Stockhausen, Tod Dockstader, Olivia Block and others. Read it here
Another old interview with me just resurfaced too on a freshly designed website. I made it back in 2012 and it focuses on my work, Salles des Départs, as a central part of the conversation, the permanent work for the bereavement suite at Raymond Poincaré hospital in Garches, France. Read it in full here
‘Canicula’ continues in Venice, as part of the legendary Biennial exhibition. My installation with artist Maya Watanabe, ‘Jarkov’ has been received exceptionally well, with press frequently calling the show itself one of the absolute highlights of the entire city wide extravaganza which is wonderful. More details can be found here.
The Canta Ballet, Amsterdam
With the recent sad passing of Dutch journalist, writer and feminist Karin Spaink (1957-2026), who lived with multiple sclerosis for decades, I wanted to share the extraordinary project we worked on together in 2012.
Long before online culture became a battleground, Karin was already fighting for digital freedom, privacy, and especially the right to think critically. She remained a fearless Dutch writer, cyber-activist and public intellectual, challenging censorship whilst exposing abuses of power.
The Canta ballet was devised and set up by Maartje Nevejan, Karin Spaink and Bert Kommerij. Beginning in mid-May with a book by Karin, a TV series on Ned 2, and a radio documentary on Radio 1, the grand finale took place on 28 June 2012 with a special dance performance with dancers from the Dutch National Ballet and sixty Canta drivers. I was so thrilled to score this work and perform it live at the premiere too. It was also a chance to make some amazing friends, some of whom I’m still very much in touch with today. You can now watch the entire work with a (currently) unreleased score here.
And yes, having scored around 75 works for ballet and dance I’m still considering a series of boxsets compiling all this work one day!
Plenty to keep me busy this month, preparing projects for both release and performance, but more on that next month.
Warmest wishes
Professor Scanner
LISTEN
The Fall: Singles Live Vol 2 (Bella Union)
Church Andrews & Matt Davies: Tilt (ODDA)
Serge Geyzel: The Way to Go (Pulse State)
Colleen: Libres Antes Del Final (Thrill Jockey)
READ
Nick Drake: The Recordings (Bookvault)
Anthony Burgess: Homage to Qwert Yuiop (Abacus)
Joshua Charow: The Loft Law (Damiani)
Maryanne Amacher: Intelligent Life (Blank Forms)
WATCH
Ryuichi Sakamoto Last Days: NHK
Father Mother Sister Brother: Jim Jarmusch
L’Étranger: François Ozon
The Broken Circle Breakdown: Felix van Groeningen
