CATALYST 

Benjamin Bacon is a sound artist and researcher at the Catalyst Institute of Creative Arts and Technology, and a PhD candidate at the Technische Universität Berlin. His work delves into the intersections of sound, technology, and perception, exploring themes such as the transformation of information into noise and the reinterpretation of auditory experiences through computational processes. Bacon’s compositions often involve multi-channel audio installations that challenge listeners to reconsider the boundaries between signal and artefact.

Graceful Degradation explores the fragile boundary between signal and noise, meaning and error. Across four movements, it examines how sound degrades and is reinterpreted—through corrupted files, shattered glass, neural misfires, and overtrained AI. From digital detritus repackaged as mechanical acoustics, to algorithmic hallucinations of speech, the piece invites listeners to witness the collapse and reconstruction of sonic meaning. Each section reveals the tension between human and machine perception, where distortion becomes form and noise becomes narrative.

Renée T. Coulombe navigates sonic territories where rigorous training and radical experimentation meet the performative. Classically educated at the Conservatoire de Nantes and Columbia University before earning her PhD in composition from UC San Diego, she has methodically dismantled conventional disciplinary boundaries in pursuit of new sonic territories. As Assistant Professor at UC Riverside (2000-2010), she pioneered artistic research methodologies while serving on the University of California Institute for Research in the Arts board, shaping interdisciplinary research across the UC system. A Deep Listening certified practitioner, her attentive sonic practice informs her work as founder of Berlin's Willows Nest collaborative arts space, and the Improvised Alchemy performance collective. 

Her transmedia compositions, from  Sympathetic Resonance to recent collaborations with Berlin's Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester, embody tensions between structure and spontaneity, lavishing in rich sonic ambience and timbral complexity. She is currently serving as Program Lead for the Creative Production Masters program at Catalyst Institute for Creative Arts and Technology in Berlin's historic Funkhaus, where she continues exploring practices where creative technologies and human collaborations are sustained across borders, genres, and disciplines.

Haunted Weather is from a series of work creating imagined audio spaces, places, journeys — immersions into imaginary audio experiences. Composed with a mixture of field recordings, instrumental scoring, samples, and heavy processing to create soundscapes that seem to morph between "composed" and "unfolding" in time.

Alisa Nedashkovska is a Ukrainian composer, sound artist, and producer based in Berlin. She works with electronic music, field recordings, ambient textures, and rhythm-driven experimental sound. Her focus is on projects where music holds narrative weight — collaborating on choreographic films, performances, games, and audiovisual installations. Her practice centers on creating sonic environments that shape how stories are felt and spaces are perceived. 

Time-based Fixed Multichannel (8 speakers) Audiovisual Piece. 

The piece is an artistic interpretation of the Japanese concept of ma — the negative space between sounds and actions — and is visually supported by VFX artists Cheng Hong Yu and Aner Shahar.

ORIMUS is a brand new identity, formerly known as 'Aneesh Chengappa'. I'm an aspiring electronic music artist focused on creating sounds that evoke introspection, self-discovery, and awareness. I started producing at age 10, developing a signature style with house music and creative melodies. 

My breakout track Fruit Juice (as Aneesh Chengappa) was featured by Martin Garrix and went viral. I’ve toured India with over 50 shows and launched an alias, Fuchatone, for mellow R&B/Soul-inspired sounds. My music has been featured on Netflix, Lakme Fashion Week, Spotify editorial playlists, and more.

“Essence” is the opening track of my upcoming album MERAKI, under my new alias ORIMUS. Blending orchestral, deep house, and EDM/electro, it’s a haunting, grand, and emotional introduction to a transformative journey. 

The lyrics, written by me and performed by Beti Iordachescu, explore identity, healing, and letting go of the past. I wanted it to feel profound and cinematic — something that captures both power and vulnerability. Majestic yet introspective, this track sets the tone for what’s to come next with the album. I truly hope it resonates with you. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen.

Rudik Mkrtchyan (RUDIQUE) is a Berlin based film composer and electronic musician. In 2022, a week after the war began he left Russia, because being there had become unacceptable and dangerous. RUDIQUE found himself searching for a new home and starting a new chapter, saying goodbye to his previous musical career and sound-engineering university studies – all of which came to an end abruptly and outside of his control. Currently he is blending sound design techniques with electronic music creating scores for short films, commercials and performances in Berlin.

elisanyhm is a Swiss-Brazilian sound artist and composer based in Berlin. Her work revolves around affective indeterminism and the cinematic realm in music through a textural, collage-like, and experimental approach.  

‘Floating Weeds’, a short piece by elisanyhm, combines field recordings with warped samples. It was composed in homage to Yasujirō Ozu’s 1959 film of the same name. Specifically, the piece is an attempt to honor moments in the film where pouring rain breaks the narrative of the plot. These moments, with a kind of mysticism, bring forth an atmosphere, or space, that envelops the characters of the film. 

Hsuan is a multidisciplinary artist from Taiwan, currently based in Berlin. Works in theater and film scoring, directing, performing, experimental composition, and vocal coaching. Her recent work explores musical logic as a stage-driving force, merging sound with physical expression while questioning language’s limits in shaping reality.

Hsuan incorporates the concept of Sound-walk, integrating the documentation of history through recorded technology. Through her composition, she aims to highlight the traces left by time within the space and the evidence of space revealed over time.

Skeleton is the solo project of New York raised, Berlin based musician Jasper Ewing. Fluctuating between alternative, electronic and ambient, Ewing's shifting sound is trademarked by his use of hardware instruments. Pairing sporadic percussion with hazy textures alongside jazz sensibilities and crushing distortion, Ewing's next musical moves aren't easy to predict. 

Winding is a piece made exclusively in an obscure, long forgotten user instrument within Reaktor (Native Instruments). The piece consists of ever changing noise, almost as if it is a permanent transition, but never fully resolving. 

Born and raised in central México, where arid plateaus meet terracotta cliffs, Havi crafts sonic worlds of contrast—effervescent highs and still, shadowed lows. After relocating to Sweden, his perspective deepened, blending the warmth of his origins with the stark quiet of the North. With a background in jazz and classical music, he weaves improvisation, minimalism, and lush harmonies inspired by Miles Davis, Ravel, and Debussy. Now based in Berlin, Havi explores the overlap of nature and city life, transforming whispered landscapes and the murmur of nocturnal states into immersive, emotionally textured soundscapes.

This piece is part of an exploration of sound as a medium for translating the architectural characteristics of different spaces. Through acoustic resonances, reverberations, impulse responses, and field recordings captured within architectural environments, the project seeks to document their aural attributes in order to construct new sonic landscapes. In this particular piece, various recordings of the same theme captured in different locations were merged through the process of convolution, combining distinct spatial and sonic states into a new unified whole.

Kapno is an experimental improvisor, performing using modular synthesizers. Her artistic research is based on interdisciplinary collaboration and its sociopolitical context addresses issues of breaking systems of authority, fostering radicality, reciprocal collaborative creation and notions of equality in the context of interdisciplinary performance. Modular synthesizers are horizontally structured, they do not impose a specific signal flow to the user (in contrast to our society which is based on signifiers) and can be patched rhizomatically, modules can be interconnected in a Deleuzian "plane of consistency". 

She has performed in numerous theatre plays and is currently working primarily in collaboration with dancers.

EXXtraTerra is the interdisciplinary collaborative work merging three members of the dance collective "Rest in Beat", Video Artist Irene Lambridou and Modular Synthesizer experimental improvisor Kapno. 

It is an open-ended discussion around bodies, gender constructions and sexualization. Through glitching, we are denying to perform our given identities. Categorization and binary structures are dissolved, providing a new space to exist through the ruptures created within the EXXtraTerra world. 

Lucien Fieulaine is a French artist and composer currently based in Berlin.

His work is shaped by early experimental cinema and the experimental music scene.

He enjoys blending music with video or installations, always looking for new ways to bring his creative ideas to life.

Lucien works with both electronic and acoustic techniques. His sound spans from intense noise to drone music, exploring various aspects of the experimental music world.

For him, it's about the connection between music and performance. He enjoys playing live and exploring new concepts that can shift the way people think. His work ranges from harsh, noisy sounds and graphic elements to longer, more tranquil folk-droning pieces made mostly with acoustic instruments.

Lucien Unveils New Work Blending Folk Traditions with Drone, Noise, and Field Recordings

In my latest project, I delve into uncharted sonic territory, weaving elements of folk music with immersive drone textures, abrasive noise, and evocative field recordings. This bold fusion challenges genre boundaries, offering a raw and atmospheric listening experience that blurs the line between the organic and the experimental.

Morgan Hickinbotham (b. 1989) is an Australian music composer, sound designer, photographer, and filmmaker who works within the fields of contemporary dance, film, and television.
Morgan’s compositions focus on creatively manipulating sound and image by exploring and expanding on minor imperfections or mistakes inherent in artistic experimentation.

He creates experimental, minimalist compositions inspired by experimental composition processes and influenced by drone, noise, classical minimalism and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Relativity is a compositional reflection of how we can comprehend and relate to the monumental environmental changes, accelerated by climate change, happening on timescales beyond our natural lifespans. 

In May 2022 Morgan was invited by the Icelandic Glaciological Society (IGS) on an expedition across the largest glacier in both Iceland and Europe, Vatnajökull. While on the glacier Morgan created an archive of field recordings, recording the sounds of the glacial mass while also witnessing first-hand how the IGS measure and record the shifting and receding glacial landscape. 

Relativity aims to find a point of expression that lies beyond a human-centred experience of environment movement and change.

Raised in the Black Sea mountains, Nilgün Özer is a multidisciplinary artist from Turkey, now based in Berlin. Her work spans music, fine arts, and design, driven by a thematic rather than a fixed approach. Evolving from folk and singer-songwriter roots, her music blends electroacoustic, ambient, and experimental folk elements. Beyond sound, she explores visual and tactile media, shaping environments where sound, visuals, and space interact, allowing ideas to evolve organically.

This track captures the emotional rollercoaster of being trapped in one's own mind. The human brain has a way of getting stuck in loops, where even the smallest triggers—memories, scents, or patterns—can either bring peace or unravel deeper thoughts, leading to a cycle of untangling. Using only field recordings, vocals, and the Ney, the track reflects how seemingly minor details can leave lasting imprints on our memories, and therefore, our very being.

Paoline Magnus is 20 year old Berlin-based composer, producer, and vocalist whose work explores the space between organic emotion and digital structure. With ambient textures, processed vocals, and subtle rhythmic frameworks, she creates a sonic world that pulls the listener in. Originally from Belgium, her music reflects themes of intimacy, identity, and technological fragmentation. This piece of music is part of her upcoming Breakbeat/Elctronic EP "Flowers in The Machine" set for release next month!

This piece is about the tension between staying human and being pulled into something artificial. It starts with soft, piano and voice and slowly shifts into glitchy, digital chaos. I wanted to capture that feeling of losing touch with the natural world, of trying to hold on while everything around you changes. It’s a personal take on the future, one that feels a bit dystopian, but also very present. The track blends organic and synthetic sounds to reflect that inner conflict between what’s real and what’s becoming realer-than-real.

Óriah, originally from Fortaleza, Brazil, draws deep inspiration from Brazilian culture, weaving its rich rhythms and textures into her sonic explorations. Fascinated by percussion and immersive soundscapes, she creates mysterious, narrative-driven compositions that invite deep listening. Her work blends organic and electronic elements, often moving between atmospheric depth and rhythmic intensity. Now based in Berlin, Óriah continues to evolve her sound in more experimental directions, embracing new tools and environments that challenge and expand her creative process.

My composition explores the fusion of drones and aquatic sounds, creating a dense and immersive sonic landscape. Deep bass frequencies form powerful, resonant layers that evoke the weight and mystery of the underwater world. Sounds of water and ocean waves blend with these low-end textures, suggesting a journey through submerged territories. Rather than silence, the piece embraces a sense of pressure and presence—where the depths hum, vibrate, and pulse. It’s an exploration of the aquatic interior not as calm or still, but as alive and shifting, inviting the listener into a space both mysterious and sonically rich.

Kurak is an experimental multidisciplinary artist from Berlin. His current sound works aim to challenge conventional rhythms, they stumble and question themselves – sincere uncertainty is the key feeling Kurak seeks to create and explore. With a background in music and experience in scoring for visual media, he tries to go beyond that and explore the medium of text through the Helloes to Never project. This interest is coming from continuing attempts to explore new ways of talking about political and societal change.

A video piece that combines music and text to tell a story, to present an essay on understanding myself as an artist in times of great crisis. The narrative unfolds as sentences and words appear, gradually occupying a specific place on the screen space at different speeds. With this simple setup, I explore geometric and movement patterns as a method of delivering text – how attention and focus being affected by color and movement? By revealing the questions posed in the essay, I give the viewer the opportunity to have this conversation with themselves as they view the work.

Sasha Chilikova, originally from Moscow and then Tbilisi, is a Berlin-based performer and improviser. With a background in the shoegaze band Sad Sad Party, she brings the same psychedelic energy and atmospheric depth to her ambient project, Sasha Jams. Drawing from her roots in improvisation, all of Sasha’s works emerge from a spontaneous flow, creating music that feels honest, natural, and deeply personal. Her soundscapes are a fusion of dreamy harmonies and psychedelic vibes, capturing the raw emotion and fluidity of the moment. Sasha’s performances are an invitation to experience music as it unfolds in real time.

Features the repeating Russian lyrics, "I love you more than I'm hurt, I'm curious more than I'm scared." This powerful statement reflects the resilience to choose love and curiosity over fear and pain. The track weaves a psychedelic, dreamy fog with an underlying sense of optimism, light, and hope.

Tereza, otherwise known as Terra, is a singer, songwriter and electronic music producer who’s most recognised for her 2025 Czech music academy “group project of the year” nomination for her collaborative single “Divine (w u @?)”. She currently lives in Berlin, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in electronic music production at the Catalyst Institute for Creative Arts and Technology and independently working on her music, art direction, music video direction and sound design.

"Terraform" is an audiovisual project about the overlooked mental impact that the glorification of dangerous body standards and poor lifestyle choices has on young women. Through Terraform, Tereza shares her own battle with substance abuse, depression and maintaining her social image. In the current social media landscape, where we make trends out of fat removal surgeries, anorexic behaviour is disguised as “girl dinner”, all the internet’s favourite “it girls” are glamourising cocaine use and “heroin chic” is making a comeback, not even the coolest of cool girls, not even our protagonist Terra, can keep up.