Scalar Towers at Sonic Acts Biennale 2026
Sonic Acts Biennale 2026
Date: 28 Feb
In 2025-26 BJ Nilsen was invited to work as artist in residence in Sonic Acts’ Spatial Sound Studio. Here, he continued to develop his new approach to listening and sound-making from field recordings – exploring vertical architectural and natural structures as resonant instruments of listening. Two unique field recording excursions – to the historic water tower at Radio Kootwijk and the repurposed feed silo at Het Lage Noorden in Marrum – feed into his ongoing research on vertical acoustics.
BJ Nilsen’s approach to creating music from field recording points towards his research in active listening. A renowned sound artist and composer, his extensive discography spans over 30 years, with releases such as ‘Irreal’ (2021) on Editions Mego and, recently, ‘True than Nature’ (2025) on Ideologic Organ. Next to his solo work, he has also extensively collaborated with artists such as Chris Watson, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and Femke Herregraven.
The Spatial Sound Residency programme is supported by the @stimuleringsfonds, @afk020, @cultuurloket_digitall, @mondriaanfonds, and is part of ‘New Perspectives for Action’, a project by @reimagineeurope, co-funded by the EU. @massiftrophies residency is also supported by @fondspodiumkunsten.
Step into an evening of exhilarating sonic exploration, where the boundaries of listening are stretched and reshaped. The evening features new and significant works by BJ Nilsen and KMRU & Aho Ssan, compositions by Éliane Radigue and Beatriz Ferreyra, and bold performances by avant-gardists Leila Bordreuil & Drew McDowall, Martyna Basta, and Mariam Gviniashvili & Hilde Marie Holsen.
Presented in partnership with Hartwig Art Foundation and realised with INA GRM, the programme unfolds over five hours through the Acousmonium – an orchestra of around sixty loudspeakers brought to Amsterdam by the Musical Research Group of the French National Audiovisual Institute, designed to immerse audiences in spatialised sound.
During his residency at Sonic Acts’ Spatial Sound Studio, BJ Nilsen developed Scalar Towers, co-commissioned with INA GRM. Expanding on decades of work with field recording and composition, Nilsen transforms vast architectural and natural structures into resonant instruments. Drawing on recordings made inside a historic water tower in Radio Kootwijk and a feed silo in Friesland, Scalar Towers explores ‘vertical acoustics’ – how sound ascends, reverberates, and reshapes within towering spaces. Immersive, physical, and meticulously detailed, it marks a major moment in Nilsen’s ongoing explorations, and will be diffused by the artist himself.
Another unmissable moment is the world premiere of a new collaborative piece by KMRU & Aho Ssan – two leading voices in contemporary experimental music – written especially for the Acousmonium.
Archival works by Éliane Radigue and Beatriz Ferreyra anchor the programme, celebrating their innovative practices and enduring influence. Radigue’s Kyema (1988) and Ferreyra’s Médisances (1968) will be diffused by GRM.
Former Coil member Drew McDowall joins Leila Bordreuil for Somatic Forms, a live performance merging modular synthesis and cello. Two INA GRM commissions round out the night: Martyna Basta’s Suite for Sore Strings (diffused by the artist), and Serene Din by Mariam Gviniashvili & Hilde Marie Holsen – performed live, blending electronic processing with breath and brass.
Please note: this is a seated event.
Timetable (with breaks)
20:00
Éliane Radigue, Kyema, 1988, 61 min (diffusion by INA GRM)
21:30
Beatriz Ferreyra, Médisances, 1968, 7 min (diffusion by INA GRM)
Leila Bordreuil & Drew McDowall, Somatic Forms, 2025, 25 min (live performance)
BJ Nilsen, Scalar Towers, 2026, 25 min (diffusion by the artist)
23:00
Martyna Basta, Suite for Sore Strings, 2025, 19 min (diffusion by the artist)
Mariam Gviniashvili & Hilde Marie Holsen, Serene Din, 2025, 25 min (live performance)
KMRU & Aho Ssan, Still – Fold, 2026, 30 min (live performance)