Experimental Sound Studio

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.

Join us next Friday, Dec 5 from 6-9 PM for the opening of Sonic Pavilion Redux at ESS’s Audible Gallery.Experimental Sou...
11/26/2025

Join us next Friday, Dec 5 from 6-9 PM for the opening of Sonic Pavilion Redux at ESS’s Audible Gallery.

Experimental Sound Studio
5925 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60660

Sonic Pavilion Redux is an iterative expansion of this summer’s Sonic Pavilion Festival, this time around staged for Experimental Sound Studio’s Audible gallery. Eight multichannel sound compositions originally created for the 24-channel trellised speaker system at Jay Pritzker Pavilion are reimagined here for ESS’s immersive 8-channel system and dedicated listening space.

Sonic Pavilion Redux artists:
Angel Bat Dawid & Eyeisha Sistrunk
Anna Friz & Jeff Kolar
David Bird
Glenn Kotche
Myles Emmons
Paige Alice Naylor
Saapato
Zouning Anne Liao

Sonic Pavilion Festival is developed by Experimental Sound Studio. It was originally presented by the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). The initial event was supported by the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.



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Our Creative Audio Archive interview series shines a light on the extensive collection.On October 24th, 2025, Tatsu Aoki...
11/25/2025

Our Creative Audio Archive interview series shines a light on the extensive collection.

On October 24th, 2025, Tatsu Aoki and Jeff Parker got together to discuss their time playing with Fred Anderson in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, a timespan covered by both the Tatsu Aoki and Fred Anderson CAA Collections.

Tatsu’s more than 50 DAT tapes not only capture the Fred Anderson Trio’s music, but a revolving cast of many younger musicians who cut their teeth at the legendary Velvet Lounge during this time. In this conversation, Jeff and Tatsu reminisce on this incredibly fertile period and the impact that Fred had on their musical pathways.

Explore the interview and more at link in bio.


We did it! You did it! We made the match and reached our 2026 year end funding goal.This campaign started out as a commu...
11/22/2025

We did it! You did it! We made the match and reached our 2026 year end funding goal.

This campaign started out as a community effort, thanks to the ESS Community Pool, who agreed to bring their resources together to create an additional match to the one put forth by the Reva and David Logan Foundation.

And the community continued to show up. You’re incredible. You are ESS and we’re so glad to be in partnership with you. Here’s to entering a beautiful, community-supported and community-driven 40th year in 2026.

The latest iteration of Florasonic, Sarah Belle Reed’s “Semblance of Fern,” closes on Sunday.The work has been getting a...
11/21/2025

The latest iteration of Florasonic, Sarah Belle Reed’s “Semblance of Fern,” closes on Sunday.

The work has been getting a lot of attention lately. NewCity called the sound installation a “confluence of the natural and technological, shattering the artificial and human divide.”

Reid herself recently released a fantastic long-form video documenting the creative process from conceptualization to ex*****on. Developed in collaboration with instrument builder and composer, Ryan Gaston, the work buzzes, swells, and pops with life.

Don’t miss your chance to catch this captivating work IRL.

Florasonic is free and open to the public, more info at link in bio.
Full NewCity review at link in bio.



It takes more than just providing space or putting on shows - we deserve intentional spaces that are increasing access. ...
11/19/2025

It takes more than just providing space or putting on shows - we deserve intentional spaces that are increasing access. Help us continue the work in 2026!

Over the past year, ESS organized 11 artist-led events for women, trans, and non-binary folks working and experimenting in audio, attended by nearly 100 people. We continue this work, as well as expanded efforts in learning, connecting, and sharing, in 2026. The impact of these programs is exponential.

Let’s make sure it’s well resourced!

Ten $50 donations fund a workshop and skill-share event. Over 2k people will see this post. Let’s do this. Donate link in bio.

We’re excited to announce Sonic Pavilion Redux, an immersive audio exhibition opening Dec 5, 6-9 PM at ESS’s Audible Gal...
11/18/2025

We’re excited to announce Sonic Pavilion Redux, an immersive audio exhibition opening Dec 5, 6-9 PM at ESS’s Audible Gallery.

Experimental Sound Studio
5925 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60660

Sonic Pavilion Redux is an iterative expansion of this summer’s Sonic Pavilion Festival, staged for Experimental Sound Studio’s Audible gallery. Eight multichannel sound compositions originally created for the 24-channel trellised speaker system at Jay Pritzker Pavilion are reimagined here for ESS’s immersive 8-channel system. This presentation offers a second chance to experience the work after the festival’s final outdoor performance was cut short by severe weather. Featuring work by ten artists from the 2025 Sonic Pavilion Festival, Sonic Pavilion Redux invites audiences to encounter the same dynamic sound worlds within the focused acoustics of ESS’s gallery space.

Sonic Pavilion Redux artists:
Angel Bat Dawid & Eyeisha Sistrunk
Anna Friz & Jeff Kolar
David Bird
Glenn Kotche
Myles Emmons
Paige Alice Naylor
Saapato
Zouning Anne Liao

Sonic Pavilion Festival is developed by Experimental Sound Studio. It was originally presented by the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and was supported by the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.



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We should all have access to the legacies that built today.Every $10 donation gets a recording from the Creative Audio A...
11/18/2025

We should all have access to the legacies that built today.

Every $10 donation gets a recording from the Creative Audio Archive onto ESS’s website for free access (priceless).

Creative Audio Archive currently holds 8,000+ recordings of experimental music and sound from the 1950s through today.

Help open up these histories to new ears - donate today. Link in bio.

We believe that space (mental and physical) to experiment should not be a privilege. In 2026, we’re growing our investme...
11/17/2025

We believe that space (mental and physical) to experiment should not be a privilege. In 2026, we’re growing our investment in that belief by piloting free access to engineered studio sessions (more details after Thanksgiving!) and studio access to a growing collection of (often cost prohibitive) electronic instruments and equipment.

Help us make space for experimentation and keep building our artist resources.

This week only, your donation is tripled via matching donations from the community. That means that every 8 donations of $20 provide an artist with a full day session at the studio. That’s huge.

Click the link in bio to give what you can.

We can still feel the resonance of Sarah Belle Reid’s immersive performance that celebrated the opening of “Semblance of...
11/14/2025

We can still feel the resonance of Sarah Belle Reid’s immersive performance that celebrated the opening of “Semblance of Fern,” her contribution to our ongoing Florasonic series. The site-specific installation runs through Nov 23 in the Lincoln Park Conservatory’s iconic Fern Room.

In this work, composer-performer Sarah Belle Reid’s installation explores the formal connections between mathematical and natural order using a mixture of deep observation, algorithmic modeling, and multichannel audio to blur the line between natural and invented growth.

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


Let’s get loud. Over the next 10 days, we’re asking you to invest what you can into the idea that experimental art—art a...
11/12/2025

Let’s get loud. Over the next 10 days, we’re asking you to invest what you can into the idea that experimental art—art at the front line of defining what comes next—is a valuable part of our culture.

The goal: raise $7,500 to unlock an additional $7,500 in matching donations. Take action via the link in bio.

Who is amplifying your impact:

is matching all new and increased donations*. A group of community members is further compounding these efforts by pooling their resources into an additional match for all donors, new and existing.

The power to impact the arts—and so culture in America—lies with the community. ESS has always been powered by people giving what they can, an aggregate force that makes things happen. We don’t need big money (though if you have it, we’ll take it!), we just need everyone to feed back into the loop that is our culture.

Thank you. Let’s do this.

*”New” is defined as not having given in the past two years. Need more info to increase your donation or have another question? Contact Olivia at [email protected].

Join us November 18 at ESS for “Transcendent Souls III,” a special evening presented by New Music Chicago.J Holzen’s “Tr...
11/11/2025

Join us November 18 at ESS for “Transcendent Souls III,” a special evening presented by New Music Chicago.

J Holzen’s “Transcendent Souls” is a concert series that aims to celebrate trans artistry and illuminate the intersection of values central to trans and Christian religious communities, such as the sacredness of the human body, cosmic inheritance, and transness as participating in the divine act of creation.

This third chapter offers a q***r reimagining of the “Ordinary of the Mass” and features pieces for singing cellist with works by Jacqui Armbruster, Benjamin Britten, Caroline Polachek, Yaz Lancaster, and J Holzen.

Additionally, the trio Vanishing Point, Dylan Feldpausch (violin), J Holzen (cello), and Rebecca Miller (viola), will perform “The Companion Guide To Rome,” by Andrew Norman, a Pulitzer Prize finalist. The work features nine sonic portraits of Roman churches and their saints.


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5925 N Ravenswood Avenue
Chicago, IL
60660

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+17739981069

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