About this episode

DeForrest Brown Jr. explores new ways of listening to music in a noisy world through his residency at Somerset House Studios.

From alternative modes of listening to live performance as a form of time travel, the Black political economy of music and the platform conditions of distribution, musician, curator and theorist, DeForrest Brown Jr. wants to discover new ways of relating to audio. In a world of noise and an oversaturated music industry, what new worlds might we discover if we reimagine how we make and listen to music? In this sonic essay for The Process, DeForrest reveals some of the ideas generated from his one-month residency at Somerset House Studios in 2025. Drawing on his research project, Rhythmanalytics, where he explores electronic music at the end of the music industry, DeForrest gives insight into his multi-media project, Synoptic Audio. In a richly textured dialogue between sound and words, DeForrest shares his experience of returning to Somerset House Studios to perform live as part of Assembly 2026 programme. Credits: Contributors: DeForrest Brown Jr Executive Producer: Eleanor Ritter-Scott Producer: Tess Davidson Sound Engineer: Mike Woolley Host: Laurent John Theme Music: Ka Baird Additional sound: DeForrest Brown Jr (live recording, Assembly, Somerset House Studios, 2026)

People in this episode

Host: Laurent John

Guest: DeForrest Brown Jr.

Topics covered

• listening
• music industry
• performance
• audio
• cultural commentary
• sonic essay

Keywords

• listening
• music
• performance
• audio
• cultural commentary
• DeForrest Brown Jr.
• Somerset House
• Rhythmanalytics
• Synoptic Audio

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Somerset House Studios, Assembly

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