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)
The Spatial Sound Concerts are presented by Sonic Acts and Hartwig Art Foundation, and co-organised with the Musical Research Group of the French National Audiovisual Institute (INA GRM). The programmes are also realised by Paradiso and Sonic Acts as part of New Perspectives for Action, a project by Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the European Union. The works of Beatriz Ferreyra, Bernard Parmegiani, Jim O’Rourke and Éliane Radigue are diffused in partnership with INA GRM. The work of Sarah Davachi was co-commissioned by Radio France and INA GRM. The works of Jana Winderen, Beatriz Ferreyra and Martyna Basta were commissioned by INA GRM. The performances by Leila Bordreuil & Drew McDowall, and Mariam Gviniashvili & Hilde Marie Holsen are realised by Paradiso and Sonic Acts as part of the same funding scheme. Works by BJ Nilsen and KMRU & Aho Ssan are co-commissioned by Sonic Acts and INA GRM also as part of the same funding scheme. With the friendly support of the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung.
