Friday Sessions London

An informal talk centred on a recent piece 'Junkspace', created and premiered at IRCAM in Paris in 2006. The piece explores different concepts related to form as it is conceived of in traditional musical structure and the possibilities of extending it through architectural processes and theory.



Following an apprenticeship as a sound engineer in New York in 1995, Sam Britton studied architecture at the Architectural Association from 1996 to 1999 where he received his RIBA Part 1 certification.

He began writing electronic music in 1996 in which he is almost entirely self taught. Since 1997 he has recorded and released music for a number of independent electronic music labels in the UK and the US (Output Recordings, Temporary Residence, Domino and The Leaf Label) to significant critical acclaim and continues to perform as 'Icarus' (with Ollie Bown) all over Europe.

In 2005/6 he completed a masters course in electronic music and composition at IRCAM in Paris. His composition work at IRCAM was overseen by composer Philippe Leroux and he attended master classes with Brian Ferneyhough, Hugues Dufourt, Joshua Fineberg and Yan Maresz. His composition 'Junkspace' for banjo and electronics was highly commended and premiered during the 2006 artistic season at IRCAM.

Since returning to London he has been actively involved in fostering new audiences for electro-acoustic music, notably through 'Not Applicable', the organisation he co-founded in 2002 with Ollie Bown. Recent work has centered around new techniques for electro-acoustic improvisation and has included performances with Evan Parker, George Lewis, Diemo Schwarz, Lothar Ohlmeier and Tom Arthurs.

Currently he is focusing on writing a new piece for string quartet and electronics and developing work with many diverse instrumentalists, continuing to fuse his approach to electronic music with an instrumental tradition in the pursuit of new avenues for compositional technique and musical perception.