Experimental Sound Studio

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Experimental Sound Studio

ESS is a non-profit, artist-run organization focused on sound in all its exploratory cultural manifes November is Membership Month!

Join at https://ess.org/donate. Experimental Sound Studio is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization dedicated to artistic evolution and the creative exploration of sound. As an international hub for sonic experimentation, ESS nurtures artists, heralds new works, and builds a broad, supportive community of makers, enthusiasts, and creative partners through preservation, production, presentation, and education.

10/24/2025

ESS’s Creative Audio Archive (CAA) is dedicated to the preservation of innovative and experimental sonic arts and music.

The CAA is not a gilded vault or mausoleum. Instead, it’s a porous interface. Working with contemporary artists and musicians, we facilitate direct activations and investigations of these materials. The Sun Ra / El Saturn collection is one of our more well known collections. However, the objects, the audio, and what they inspire continue to surprise and delight.

Artists Angel Bat Dawid and Sophiyah E., known collectively as MOTHABOARD, have been exploring the Sun Ra / El Saturn collection through dedicated research and expressive performance. Their recent project “Cosmic Echoes” explored Ra’s profound legacy through his connections to Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood and the historic Forum.

Several pivotal recordings from the collection, cited in their recent research are shown here, as well as a snippet from the performance.

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10/23/2025

Florasonic continues through Nov 23!

Composer-performer Sarah Belle Reid’s installation “Semblence of Fern” in the Lincoln Park Conservatory’s Fern Room explores the formal connections between mathematical models and natural order.

Experience this unique sound installation during Conservatory open hours (Wednesday-Sunday,10am-4:30pm). The piece plays at the top of every hour.

Sarah began her journey of creating the work by studying Barnsley’s Fern, an algorithm first described by Dr. Michael Barnsley in 1988. The algorithm’s fern-like logic was then compared to the rich diversity of natural ferns: intricate spore patterns, fuzzy fiddleheads, tangled root systems. From these explorations, Reid imagined a series of “mutant ferns” by altering various aspects of Barnsley’s original fractal algorithm to generate fern-like abstractions, suggesting unfamiliar ecosystems and conditions, blurring the line between natural and invented growth.

To realize this piece, Reid collaborated with musician and electronic instrument designer Ryan Gaston. This instrument translates the Barnsley Fern and eight mutant variants into interwoven streams controlled with a digital modular synthesizer system of Gaston’s design. The device produces fern-inspired voltages that animate and spatialize the sounds you hear, moving them through the quadraphonic field—like organisms spreading and intertwining.

You just have to experience this.

10/22/2025

Despite the weather, the 14th annual Experimental Garage Sale was a shining success. Thanks to everyone who braved the morning rain to bask in the glow of a beautiful October afternoon with us.

Big thanks to EGS organizer Micheal Una () for snapping it all into focus once again.

Amidst the zips and zaps of modular synths, DIY cassette drones, homemade instruments, and gently used gear, there was a palpable feeling of comradery.

Where would we be without our curious community? Attendees new and old explored every nook and cranny of ESS, which was packed with vendors from across the region. You name it, we had it, with vendors offering an array of whimsical and practical one-of-a-kind finds.

Thanks to the ESS family for showing up again and again.

10/21/2025

Huge thanks to everyone that came out to the Forum on Saturday for a very special performance from MOTHABOARD, the duo of Angel Bat Dawid and Sophiyah E.

The event explored Sun Ra’s profound legacy through his connections to Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. The incredible performance and community-based activation cited archival recordings from ESS’s Creative Audio Archive Sun Ra/El Saturn Collection creating a realtime reflection on Black creativity, resilience, and the cosmic power of sound.

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10/17/2025

Our ongoing collaboration with continues with an evening of new comedic operetta and art song.

Experimental Sound Studio
Tuesday, Oct 21
7:30-8:30 PM

“On a secluded island, accessible only by ferry and forgotten by time, stands Hotel Noire. Once a haven of elegance, it now serves as a sanctuary for Madame Blanc and her unwavering code of civility...” So begins the concert premiere of “a life in four laments” by Paul Scherer, sung by Eden Hensel with pianist Marissa Kerbel. Soprano Amy Gadd and pianist Justin Pasquil open the evening with irreverent, 21st -century takes on art song as performers and composers. Presented as an Accent Concert in collaboration with .

RSVP IN BIO

10/16/2025

This Saturday at the Forum in Bronzeville!

Experimental Sound Studio is pleased to announce “Cosmic Echoes: Sun Ra and The Bronzeville Forum—An Immersive Sonic Journey with MOTHABOARD” featuring Angel Bat Dawid & Sophiyah E.

This community-participatory performance explores Sun Ra’s profound legacy through his connections to Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood and the historic Forum. While there’s no documented record of Sun Ra performing at the original Forum, he engaged in an informal “Forum” in Washington Park, where he connected with Black intellectuals and radicals. This space embodied the spirit of community, political dialogue, and artistic expression.

This performance acts as a dialogue between Sun Ra’s ideas and the historical significance of the Bronzeville Forum, emphasizing themes of Black liberation, cosmic consciousness, and resilience. It invites audiences to experience Sun Ra’s work as a spiritual and cultural act rooted in specific historical and geographical contexts. A transformative, community-driven event, it will blend music, history, activism, and healing—creating a shared space for reflection on Black creativity, resilience, and the cosmic power of sound.

Saturday, October 16
2-4pm
The Forum in Bronzeville, 318 E. 43rd St
(soon to be The Forum Cafe!)

This program is supported in part by

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10/15/2025

See you this Sunday at the Experimental Garage Sale!

Vendors from across the region gather to share an unbelievable variety of synthesizers, boutique noisemakers, records, tapes, vintage A/V equipment, and more!

October 19, 2025
12-6 PM
Experimental Sound Studio
5925 N Ravenswood Ave

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10/08/2025

“Machines are not just artifacts; they’re mirrors of the culture that produced them. So preserving machines is also part of preserving cultural heritage.”

Fonoteca Nacional de México’s General Director Tito Rivas spoke with ESS’s Creative Audio Archive Director James Wetzel about how sound archives preserve not only recordings, but also the tools and practices behind them. Read the transcript and hear the full interview on our website. Link in bio.

This interview is part of an ESS initiative to connect with and exchange knowledge with our peers in the field through a series of engagements.

10/07/2025

In partnership with the Center for Concrete and Abstract Machines (), we are happy to share “Intro to Microsound”, a 4-session online course introducing students to the Gen~ programming environment inside of Max/MSP.

Link in bio!

Originally held at ESS in the early months of 2025, we’re now sharing the course with our broader community through our YouTube channel.

This course serves as a technical introduction to Gen~ couched in the environment’s conceptual strengths: microsound and processual composition. The course is designed for for both experienced sound programmers as well as brave newcomers; both will walk away with new techniques and new ways of thinking about and working with sound.

Intro to Microsound was developed and lead by grace grace grace (diagrammatic.media)—media artist, theorist, educator, activist, programmer, and organizer at ccam.

10/06/2025

Our iconic Experimental Garage Sale is around the corner. Join us Sunday, Oct 19 from 12-6pm at ESS for this one-of-a-kind event.

Vendors from across the region gather to share an unbelievable variety of synthesizers, boutique noisemakers, records, tapes, and vintage A/V equipment.

This will be our biggest sale to date!

October 19, 2025
12-6 PM
Experimental Sound Studio
5925 N Ravenswood Ave

please

uliak

biz

10/03/2025

Join us Sunday, Oct 5, 2-4pm at Lincoln Park Conservatory for the opening reception of Sarah Belle Reid’s “Semblance of Fern.”

Composer-performer Sarah Belle Reid will inaugurate the multi-channel, site-specific sound installation with a very special live performance at 2:30pm. RSVP at link in bio.

Florasonic is a long-running series of site-specific sound installations in LPC’s majestic Fern Room. See you there?

10/01/2025

RSVPs are open for the final Session of Patchbent Season III. Link in bio.

Join us Wednesday, Oct 15 for a workshop with Nicole Alonso.

The Patchbent Sessions are a meeting place and learning community supporting women, trans, and non-binary people in sound and music.

This workshop will focus on unique and approachable sound sampling techniques without the need for expensive gear or software. It will embrace the resourcefulness and the creativity of unconventional sound design through accessible tools and free or low-cost methods. The goal is to discover new and inspiring ways to create experimental compositions using mobile apps, household electronics, cheaper hardware gear, and free online resources.

Address

5925 N Ravenswood Avenue
Chicago, IL
60660

Telephone

+17739981069

Website

http://ess.org/

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