Portfolio: selection of work

Clara 2.0 - the 'polite' robot thereminist

Named after original theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore, Clara 2.0 is a robot doll that can play the theremin live. She's known as the 'polite' robot thereminist as she listens to what I'm playing on the theremin and moves her dolly arm to bring her own theremin into perfect tune.

Read more and see a video of Clara 2.0 in action

Clara 2.0 duetting on the theremin with Sarah Angliss

Lectures and live demos

I'm regularly asked to talk about sound, technology and my interdisciplinary practice and have presented shows for academics, museums, arts and science festivals, research institutes and other groups. These presentations link ancient and modern ideas in science and music and invariably include live, interactive elements.

Venues include The Victoria and Albert Museum, NESTA Crucible Weekend, Purcell Room, Science Museum, Glasgow Science Centre, Oxford Trust, DeMontfort University (Leicester) and the Dana Centre.

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The Reverb Jam

In December 2006, Spacedog assembled a group of musicians in the reverb chamber of the UK National Physical Laboratory. This room has one of the longest reverberation times in Europe.

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See videos of the Reverb Jam

Reflective panels in the reverb chamber of the National Physical Laboratory

Infrasonic - haunted music?

This highly unusual, public experiment explored the strange psychological effects of infrasound - sensations that may explain why people feel a sense of awe during cathedral organ recitals or a sense of unease in seemingly haunted sites. Venue: Purcell Room, London, May 2002.

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Hear some original music composed for the experiment

An acoustic test in the National Physical Laboratory (photo: Crown Copyright).

South Bank automaton show:
Swinging London

A mini, automatic puppet show in a shed, created on a shoestring budget for the South Bank Centre, summer 2007. The brief was to come up with something novel inside a garden shed that would celebrate the area and appeal to families.

The show features London luminaries, past and present, dancing in go-go style. It also features a mini carillon (automatic bell-playing machine).

Read more and see a video of the show

Watching the puppets in the Swinging London shed, South Bank Overture Weekend, 2007.

Protect and Survive (Fred Astaire Mix)

A video cut-up, showing how it's easier to prepare for Armageddon when you're stepping to that ragtime beat.

According to Kofi Annan, 'the more that [nuclear weapon states]...insist that nuclear weapons are essential for their national security, the more other states feel that they too must have them for their security'. Despite this, the British goverment is pushing through plans for a new £25 billion trident missile. What would Gary Cooper say?

Watch the video

Still from from UK public information film Protect and Survive.

Revolution - for clogs and video loops

I co-created this piece with performer Caroline Radcliffe, after we talked about ways to bring Lancashire clog dancing to a contemporary audience. The video mixes steps from a dance called The Machinery (originally created by Pat Tracey) with live audio and video loops, recorded at a working cotton mill.

Read more and see a video of the first performance

Dubiofossil

Generative music for the hurdy gurdy

This exploration of the pros and cons of automatic music enabled users to evolve ropey tunes for a hurdy-gurdy. Tunes were evolved by auditioning sounds and selecting favourites to be evolved further. For the Big Blip 2004 - now safely locked away in the cupboard.

Here, I wanted to create music that was designed for a physical instrument, rather than computer-generated signals, so the music could more readily be performed and scrutinised by listeners.

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To Surrey Street with Love

An arrangement of sounds from Croydon's wonderful fruit and veg market. There has been a market in Surrey Street since the 13th century.

Hear the sounds

Surrey Street market, Croydon

Laughlab Soundtrack

A soundtrack to annouce the results of Laughlab, Richard Wiseman's scientific search for the world's funniest joke.

Read more and hear the soundtrack

The Haunt

This innovative ghost tour, created on a miniscule budget, combined a free, downloadable soundtrack with live drama and a classic stage magic illusion recreated by Victoria Emes. A ghostly voice leads participants to a little-known room, deep under the streets of Brighton, where something is waiting for them.

For the Brighton Festival Fringe and Halloween, 2006.

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Hear the soundtrack

The Haunt, Brighton 2006

Instant Sound Show

A set of free, classic sound demos that anyone can download and use. I made them in response to various science centre staff who asked me to help them build their own shows about acoustics. I hope they'll be useful to teachers, school students and anyone else who is curious about the science of sound and music.

Read more and download the demos

Play the saw in six weeks

A free tutorial on the musical saw, a European skiffle instrument with an unexpectedly ethereal sound.

Read the tutorial