Martyn Riley
sound artist//experimental musician//deep listener
Martyn Riley is London based Sound Artist and Experimental Musician, originating from Derbyshire in the UK. His Sound Art practice specialises in memory and sound-triggers in relation to found sculptural objects, locational image, and sonic fictions. Martyn employs experimental extended recording techniques and the manipulation of sonic landscapes to challenge listeners perceptions in relation to their spatial environment.
Upcoming Projects//
'Flux & Possibilities', a sound installation to be presented at Aesthetica Short Film Festival 8th - 12th November, 2023, York, UK
A durational sound piece was created with the collaboration of a multitude of female identifying individuals' interviewees chosen from diverse backgrounds representational of the UK populous.
The piece explores personal identities and histories, highlighting individuals’ experiences and ideologies about feminism, inequality, and gendered spaces. ‘Flux & Possibilities’ is a multi-layered discourse and investigation into the post-modern social context of peoples spatial and personal environments.
Previous Projects//
'Caving', in July '23, was a sound installation by Elliot Buchanan Benjamin Harrison & Martyn Riley investigating archaeoacoustic histories of resonance and how the relationship between sound and space can allow access to the divine. The work negotiated the acoustic properties of The Swiss Church, London , creating complex harmonies and resonant entanglements.
Spring 2022 saw my solo exhibition at Tokoro Studio, 'FUMP HULDER' (which translates as 'essence of the hidden' from 18th Century Devonshire dialect. A documentation, by sound and photography, and explorations of the acoustic ecology, barren landscapes and geology of Permian Period Dartmoor. The centrepiece being an sound installation which connected sound, visual and audience.
In the Summer of 2021, I presented my first solo show ‘ANCHOR’ at Equivalent Behaviour Space. It encompassed sound, photography and objects, including a live performance on each of the two days, collaborating with local based musicians. ‘ANCHOR’ explored the hold and connection the home has on an individual, and how the memory of sound, visuals and objects can strengthen or deteriorate this over a long period.
For LUVA Gallery’s ‘INEFFABLE’ project I created a psychogeographic sound piece, as well performing live at its launch creating a longer & evolving composition. I have recently created sound commissions for Kelly Sweeney’s two solo shows ‘Nightcomers’ and ‘Witches, Scamps And Things’, and for Equivalent Behaviour Space’s ‘Flightless’ exhibition, I will perform a live acousmatic soundtrack to vintage 16mm ornithology films.
I also present two regular radio show showcasing experimental music, ‘Noise Noise Noise’ and ‘Bamboo House’, the latter of which is linked to my Record Label Bamboo House Recordings.
I curate a new experimental music & sound event at Tokoro Studio, |ADSR|, bringing together new sonic talent and an open-minded North London (& beyond) audience. The next |ADSR|7 TBC in Autumn '23.
Residencies/Workshops //
Shortwave Collective Radio Workshop
CRiSAP, London, May '23
Immersive Audio Workshop
Amoenus, Iklectik, London, July '22
with Chris Watson, Jez Riley French
Glenshee, Scotland, June '22
Long Loch, Helensborough, Scotland, December '22
Long Loch, Helensborough, Scotland, March '22