Matthew Herbert & Julian Sartorius^UK+CH

Musician and social activist Matthew Herbert translates his unique worldview into thought-provoking electronic music using found sounds from the physical world.

From exploring the complete life of a pig and crafting a body of music using a horse’s skeleton to capturing the sounds of a crowded nightclub or a tank driving over a meal prepared for Tony Blair, his sonic narratives aim to disrupt the status quo, spotlighting some of the world’s most pressing issues. His wide-ranging work spans more than 30 albums, scores for Oscar-winning films, and music for the National Theatre, Broadway, TV, games, and radio.

Based in Bern, Switzerland, drummer, percussionist and artist Julian Sartorius forms sounds into previously unseen shapes. His precise and multi-layered rhythmical patterns are keen excursions into the hidden tones of found objects and prepared instruments, bridging the gap between organic timbres and the vocabulary of experimental electronic music.

His numerous solo albums, audiovisual art works, and collaborations with other musicians, writers and artists have earned him showcases both in intimate venues and on festival stages. His performative practice is characterized by great versatility, which is reflected in concept albums, collaborative formats, and musical experiments, including concerts, installations, and site-specific interventions such as urban and landscape-related sound walks.

Matthew Herbert & Julian Sartorius – Drum Solo
Live | North American premiere

Two idiosyncratic improvisers meet in Drum Solo, an introspective dialogue between Swiss drummer Julian Sartorius and British experimental producer Matthew Herbert. Intricate, multilayered rhythms crafted on Sartorius’ collection of drums, percussion instruments, and augmented objects become the raw material for Herbert’s real-time electronic processing, as the pair craft a dense sonic atmosphere through their uniquely imaginative approaches.