Hello
Temperatures have rapidly dropped here and my in-box is busy with discount offers from everyone imaginable it seems. Well, it’s that time of the year.
I suppose my newsletter at this point in the year should really be looking at reviewing what’s happened this year, but you can also read all of the past newsletters here anyhow.
One Year, Four New Albums
Suffice it to say, it’s been another exceptional year in terms of productions, projects and adventures. In terms of just musical releases, the year began with ‘VITO’ with Geins’t Nait, closely followed by ‘Contrary Motion,’ my collaboration with Nurse with Wound. ‘Forces, Reactions, Deflections’ followed recently and now ‘Songlines’ is out on vinyl too.
And that doesn’t include all the special editions at the Bandcamp Fanclub either, which has included ‘Archevision,’ a Dutch museum installation, ‘World Cities,’ recorded in Milan in 2002, ‘Risky Business’ a live show in London, recordings made in Australia in 2001 and more. All of these are exclusive to this channel and unavailable anywhere else. Sign up here for these very special releases.
Performing in a Massive Industrial Space
Now, time to step back just a few weeks. November began over in Turin at the opening of ‘Electric Dreams’ at OGR in Turin. Before I arrived, I hadn’t quite anticipated just how enormous the space might actually would be. The site was previously a site to maintain railway vehicles and covers over 20,000 square metres and each wing of the building is around 200 metres long.
I performed in a ‘smaller’ space with this incredibly hypnotic floor work by artist Marina Apollonio, who specialises in optical works. Rather amusingly, the audience cautiously stood around the artwork, probably unaware if they were allowed to actually stand on it or not.
Whilst in Turin, I also kept myself visiting many art shows, including exhibitions by Lee Miller, Linda Fregni Nagler and Jeff Wall, and the absolutely extraordinary Museum of Criminal Anthropology, which features over 800 skulls of former prisoners, amongst other ‘delights.’ Unfortunately, I missed out on the opportunity to visit the Museum of Fruit next door, which features displays of over 1,100 pieces of artificial fruit, modelled in the 19th century by Garnier Valletti (1808–89).
An Elegy for Neil Cassady in Berlin
A couple of days back home, and then it was off to Berlin to premiere ‘An Elegy for Neil Cassady,’ a new expanded cinematic work with visuals from Antonio Pagano. This modest event sold out and it was a joy to share this new piece with people. The entire performance was recorded and an edit will be shared online soon, towards possible shows for 2026.
And it was yet another opportunity to see massive scale exhibitions, including Diane Arbus, Raoul Hausmann and Shepard Fairey. And of course, to explore a city I have loved since I first visited in the mid 1980s, in very different days indeed.
My New Career as a Cellist and Pianist
Then it was over to the Netherlands to attend the IDFA International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam with my finest friend, American sound artist Stephen Vitiello. We were there to attend the world premiere of ‘Every Contact Leaves a Trace’ directed by Lynne Sachs. I was honoured to discover in the closing credits I was recognised as playing ‘prepared piano and cello.’ How sweet.
Once home again and between work commitments, it was an absolute joy to attend the opening of Brian Eno’s new exhibition at the Paul Stolper gallery and to have a private tour of the new Wes Anderson show at the Design Museum by Simon Weisse who is responsible for building all the props. And, with energy still left, to attend the first Cabaret Voltaire show since the 1980s for me, and then American band Tortoise the very next day.
My most recent solo album, ‘Forces, Reactions, Deflections,’ has sold out on CD in record time which is amazing. Thank you to everyone for your support! Digital and streaming is, of course, still available. Just point your browser toward the Quiet Details website.
Songlines on Vinyl and Digital
But, don’t worry, if you like vinyl my new collaborative album, ‘Songlines,’ with two bass clarinet players, Gareth Davis and Monika Bugajny is out now on Moving Furniture in the Netherlands. I should be receiving limited copies on vinyl too, so for those of you who worry about import taxes, etc, please just be patient.
Thanks to everyone who joined in the Listening Party for Songlines too, that was such fun. Pick up your copy here.
Chatting about the Power of Sound
I recently had a chat with my old friend Martyn Ware of Heaven 17/The Human League fame. This was a more unusual conversation in his new series, SoundPower, which explores ideas of how sound relates to your well-being and even your survival, and discusses the sheer power and potential of sound. More than mere entertainment it’s exploring how sound can be effective for mental health, for rituals, and all manner of positive outcomes.
I talk about my modest place in the world, my permanent installation in a hospital just outside of Paris in a public morgue, recording cities whilst travelling instead of taking photos, and with much laughter in between. You can watch the video on YouTube, but it’s also available on every possible Podcast format from Apple to Spotify, Downcast to Castbox. I hope you can make the time to have a listen. Listen to the Podcast here.
Listen to the Podcast on Spotify or Apple.
Incidentally, I just added that recent thoughtful interview I’d made at a Reddit forum to my website. It focuses entirely on ideas and the weight of sound in our lives. I’ve also added some photos to accompany it too. Read it in full here.
The Music Folder Podcast
I also recently had a conversation with Italian critic and curator Marco Mancuso for this Podcast series, The Music Folder. Previous episodes have featured Fennesz, Suzanne Ciani, Demdike Stare, Jim O’Rourke and many more. We spoke about my early experiments with Intercepted voices via radio scanners to the transformative power of collaboration. I talk about John Cage and Merce Cunningham, and also reflect on how disciplined time management allows me to pursue a vast array of projects while preserving joy and curiosity at the core of my practice.
The Music Folder is a talk series curated by Archivio Storico Ricordi, investigating the intersection of music, memory, and arts, in collaboration with Inner_Spaces for this episode. Listen back on Spotify or Apple.
EarSpace Episode 29
As regular as clockwork, EarSpace hits the airwaves, and for episode 29 we travel way back in time to 1958 for some Danish electronica, to 1976 with Tangerine Dream, 1993 with Seefeel and right up to date with new music from Roméo Poirier, Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan, Blawan, Alister Spence, Jo Montgomerie and Malcolm Pardon.
There are also head to heads from Stephen Vitiello and Edwin Torres and Amon Tobin vs Cujo, and a host of other weird and truly wonderful sounds. And a little bit of chat in between. Listen back in full here.
And the year closes at Wonderfruit Festival in Thailand where I’m presenting a new two-hour piece focusing on the concept of napping, with a work divided through 20-minute sections. Once again, I’ll be collaborating with the team at MSCTY. And hopefully, we will release this work in the future too.
Plans ahead for 2026
More shows are set for the diary in 2026, as displayed below. The Norwich Arts Centre performance with Cabaret Voltaire show sold out in just a few days, but tickets are still available for other performances. I’ll be in Athens in February, Barcelona and London in March, Catania in April, Birmingham in May and most likely more places to be confirmed.
There’s also a busy release schedule set up for 2026, with two new albums with Geins’t Nait, the double vinyl LP of Contrary Motion, a new LP with Gareth Davis, and two new releases on my own label, Alltagsmusik. Just warning you!
For now, I wanted to thank you for your support this year. After 33+ years of producing work and remaining comfortably under the surface of popular culture, it’s a joy to continue sharing it all with you all.
Have a safe and positive entry into 2026.
Warmest wishes
Professor Scanner
::: listen :::
Nurse with Wound: Shipwreck Radio Volume 1 (ICR)
Else Marie Pade: Complete Electronic Works (Dacapo)
Yutaka Hirose: John Cage memorial (Art for Life)
Jean Schwarz: Unreleased & Rarities (1972–2002) (Transversales Disques)
::: read :::
Anselm Kiefer: Where Have All the Flower Gone (Tijdsbeeld Publishing)
Virginia Woolf: Mrs Dalloway (Penguin)
Wes Anderson: The Archives (Design Museum)
FUKT #23: The Sound Issue
::: watch :::
SISU: Road to Revenge: Jalmari Helander
Bugonia: Yorgos Lanthimos
Babyteeth: Shannon Murphy
Every Contact Leaves a Trace: Lynne Sachs
