NOISE SALON is a collective co-founded by David Stenson and Bert Van Herck. Our interest is the intersection between composition, installation, sound-based work, and noise composition.

Noise Salon aims to go beyond genre in search of expeditionary sound experience. This encompasses – but is not limited to – auditory extremes, transgressive sound, complexities of distortion, the reimagining of pitch and possibilities of noise, and spatial aspects of sound.

To these ends, we engage with the possibilities of electronics. From tube amps and pedal boards, to contact mics, and loudspeakers, we are inspired by obsessive distillation of chaotic sonic terrains made possible by ever evolving technologies. Noise Salon works closely with experts on the cutting edge of collective inquiry to explore instrument design and modification, the promise of robotics and other emergent technologies.

Our projects seek a deeper understanding of how we hear, and how we actively listen, through crystallization of perspectives in the art of sound creation and the science of psychoacoustics. We are focused on reciprocity between the production and the perception of sound.

Our interaction with sound is central, not genre. Our intention is open to as many genres as possible: from improvisation to written composition; from interpretations by performers to automated electronic instruments; from electronics to new instrumental design; from noise and distortion to a new integration of pitched sound; from extended techniques and modified instruments to self-built electronic devices; and much more…