Sonic exploration network Southern Africa
Daniel W J Mackenzie
Daniel W J Mackenzie produces work that explores various notions of listening to music and sound, combining composition, improvisation, non-musical sound and field recordings. Despite a broad range of tools and processes, there are consistencies in the nuances with which the work is constructed and presented, and the substantial presence of deep emotion and atmosphere.
As a performer and sound artist he has appeared internationally, working with sound sculpture, multichannel sound, sound collage, conceptual and collaborative performance, and visual art. His installations and exhibitions refine the approaches towards noise, quietude and composition that define his released music. His artistic studies are driven by abstract and academic investigations into the phenomenology of listening and engaging with sound and subtle stimuli.
Daniel is increasingly influenced by the globalisation of sound and the role it plays in forging connections, circumventing borders and transporting listeners. He also draws influence from notions of entropy and dissolution, seeking to mirror a resistance to defined categories across his work. His wider activities and curation – which spans music, sound, sound art and film – reflect this approach.