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.

For those who missed out, MOTHABOARD, the duo of Angel Bat Dawid & Sophiyah E., gave a very special performance at Bronz...
01/07/2026

For those who missed out, MOTHABOARD, the duo of Angel Bat Dawid & Sophiyah E., gave a very special performance at Bronzville’s Forum in October of 2025. We’re excited to share the live recording.

“Cosmic Echoes: Sun Ra and The Bronzeville Forum—An Immersive Sonic Journey with MOTHABOARD”, was community-participatory event that explored Sun Ra’s profound legacy through his connections to Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. This performance acted as a dialogue between Sun Ra’s ideas and the historical significance of the Forum, emphasizing themes of Black liberation, cosmic consciousness, and resilience.

The artists based much of their performance on materials from the Creative Audio Archive, which houses the important Sun Ra / El Saturn Collection.

Link in bio.


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This program was supported in part by .

Applications close January 18 for the inaugural cycle of the Outer Ear Sessions.There’s still plenty of time to apply!Th...
01/06/2026

Applications close January 18 for the inaugural cycle of the Outer Ear Sessions.

There’s still plenty of time to apply!

The Outer Ear Sessions at Experimental Sound Studio is a pilot program providing free recording studio access to 20+ Chicago-based artists each year for the next two years. The juried program accepts artists from all genres and career stages who are working to push the boundaries of their practice, leveling the playing field for working Chicago artists city-wide.

Application link in bio.

DeffJam is an evening of live music and art celebrating the life of Ryan Deffet. Tickets are still available!Saturday, J...
01/02/2026

DeffJam is an evening of live music and art celebrating the life of Ryan Deffet. Tickets are still available!

Saturday, January 3
Thalia Hall
All ages
Ticket link in bio

Proceeds go towards the Ryan Deffet Studio Grant and the Ryan Deffet Engineer Apprenticeship at ESS, furthering Ryan’s legacy of creativity, generosity, and collaboration.

The evening features dynamic sets from Space Gators & Faux Furrs, with special guests Sima Cunningham, V.V. Lightbody, Ratboys, Andrew Sa, Kathy Patino, engine Summer, Lainey Strange, Rory Papania, Derek Weber, Chris Devlin, & Spencer Oullette, plus live instrumental music by Micah Shirey and The Nightwatch.

Ryan Deffet kicked off DeffJam in 2016. This year’s rendition carries Ryan’s energy forward as friends take the stage and come together from all over to celebrate is life and lasting impact.














This year we saw proof positive yet again that ESS is a community. Artists, listeners, and fans of all kinds came togeth...
12/29/2025

This year we saw proof positive yet again that ESS is a community. Artists, listeners, and fans of all kinds came together in 2025 to sustain experimental music and sonic art.

As we approach our 40th anniversary in 2026, your support helps ensure this community for the work continues.

If you are still considering a year-end donation at any level, we would love to have you as part of the community that has kept ESS thriving for 40 years.

Donate via the link in our bio.

Pictured:



Audience at an OPTION series concert in ESS’s backyard.

Not much feels more fitting for the season than this documentation from ‘Mars Williams’ Toy Story,’ a new piece composed...
12/23/2025

Not much feels more fitting for the season than this documentation from ‘Mars Williams’ Toy Story,’ a new piece composed and performed by Lia Kohl, with Katinka Kleijn and Macie Stewart, Rosehill Cemetery/May Chapel this past May 2025. Video linked in bio.

Of the composition process, Lia said:

“I love Mars very much and loved collaborating with him. It’s been really a joy to make this piece. I was really prepared for it to be emotional, but I wasn’t prepared for how fun it would be and how much joy and giggling by myself in the basement of ESS would happen...it’s been really a joy to interact with the toys and feel like I’m collaborating with him in a very real way.”

ESS is proud to steward Mars’ vast collection of recordings and related materials in the Creative Audio Archive.

As we slide into 2026, ESS is celebrating the transition from this year to the next in a spirit of learning together by ...
12/18/2025

As we slide into 2026, ESS is celebrating the transition from this year to the next in a spirit of learning together by sharing videos from all three seasons of Patchbent workshops (linked in bio).

Over the past year, Patchbent presenters have covered a wide range of tech-forward topics in a learning community of femme, trans, and non-binary artists working with sound in Chicago.

Huge thanks to the teaching artists who have shared their expertise with us, and to everyone who comes to learn. We hope the warmth of this community keeps you company this season, and we’re excited to keep the workshops and meetups coming in 2026.








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Huge thanks to Ruth Arts for inviting a group of ESS staff and partner artists (partial group pictured here) to Milwauke...
12/16/2025

Huge thanks to Ruth Arts for inviting a group of ESS staff and partner artists (partial group pictured here) to Milwaukee for the opening of ‘Original Order Order Original: The Art and Archives of Bettina.’

It was a beautiful visit and set the tone for taking in more art together in 2026! We’re grateful for organizations like Ruth Arts who create intentional, generative spaces like this for connection and inspiration.

This evolving exhibition, organized in collaboration with the Rivers Institute for Contemporary Art and Thought, is on view through April 3, 2026. It’s worth a visit to Milwaukee!

More information at rutharts.org

Pictured here (from left to right)
Olivia Junell, Sarah Lutkenhaus, Alex Inglizian, Paige Naylor, Kioto Aoki, and Mauricio Lopez


Join us Dec 16 at ESS for “Subscendental Etudes” a special evening presented by New Music Chicago.RSVP Required. Link in...
12/12/2025

Join us Dec 16 at ESS for “Subscendental Etudes” a special evening presented by New Music Chicago.

RSVP Required. Link in bio.

This installment of NMC’s monthly series features a large-scale experimental piano trio upending human and environmental notions of relationship. Cacie Miller & Missing Piece perform “Subscendetal Etudes”—an
evening-length piano trio combining conventional notation and multiple forms of indeterminacy by Ben Zucker, composed for Miller’s Composing “The Climate Project.”

Ryan Deffet’s family, in collaboration with members of his music community and ESS, furthers his legacy of creativity, g...
12/11/2025

Ryan Deffet’s family, in collaboration with members of his music community and ESS, furthers his legacy of creativity, generosity, and collaboration through two new annual programs:

Ryan Deffet Studio Grant
The Ryan Deffet Studio Grant gives one Chicago-based musician free access to a day-long engineered studio session at ESS. This opportunity allows the artist to further their vision in a professional environment that they might not otherwise have access to.

Ryan Deffet Engineer Apprenticeship Award
This is a 4-month fellowship for a beginning career audio technician to gain hands-on experience apprenticing in the ESS recording studio.

Together, these programs aim to increase accessibility to resources and opportunities for people working in the Chicago music scene, with a vision of contributing to a world in which anyone can realize their creative vision and make a life in the arts.

Applications and further details will be released in early 2026.

Before then, please join us at DeffJam: Celebrating the Life of Ryan Deffet at Thalia Hall on January 3. A portion of ticket sales further supports these programs. Details linked in bio.

Huge thanks to everyone who joined us for the opening reception of Sonic Pavilion Redux on Friday at ESS’s Audible galle...
12/09/2025

Huge thanks to everyone who joined us for the opening reception of Sonic Pavilion Redux on Friday at ESS’s Audible gallery.

Congratulations to the artists for their amazing works, now in its second iteration. As many of you know, these pieces were initially presented this Summer at Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion, where the multi-channel works took full advantage of the trellised speaker array.

For Redux, the pieces were reimagined for a compact interior space, ESS’s intimate Audible gallery. Braving frigid winter temperatures, attendees were treated to a magical evening of enveloping and dynamic sonic works to warm their hearts and minds.

Using the gallery’s unique 8-channel speaker system, Sonic Pavilion Redux reimagines the gallery as a sound-forward experience.

Special thanks to artist Paige Alice Naylor, for their incredible onsite choral intervention with Andrew Tham, Corey Smith, Deidre Huckabay, Dora Hewitt, and Chris Wood

Sonic Pavilion Redux is on view at ESS’s Audible gallery through Feb, 1 by appointment.

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



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Huge thanks to everyone who joined us for the opening reception of Sonic Pavilion Redux on Friday at ESS’s Audible galle...
12/09/2025

Huge thanks to everyone who joined us for the opening reception of Sonic Pavilion Redux on Friday at ESS’s Audible gallery.

Congratulations to the artists for their amazing works, now in its second iteration. As many of you know, these pieces were initially presented this Summer at Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion, where the multi-channel works took full advantage of the trellised speaker array.

For Redux, the pieces were reimagined for a compact interior space, ESS’s intimate Audible gallery. Braving frigid winter temperatures, attendees were treated to a magical evening of enveloping and dynamic sonic works to warm their hearts and minds.

Using the gallery’s unique 8-channel speaker system, Sonic Pavilion Redux reimagines the gallery as a sound-forward experience.

Special thanks to artist Paige Alice Naylor, for their incredible onsite choral intervention with Andrew Tham, Corey Smith, Deidre Huckabay, Dora Hewitt, and Chris Wood

Sonic Pavilion Redux is on view at ESS’s Audible gallery through Feb, 1 by appointment.

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



lida



radius

Join us Saturday Dec 13 from 5-7pm for an evening of celebration and deep listening with Ensemble Dal Niente.The group i...
12/08/2025

Join us Saturday Dec 13 from 5-7pm for an evening of celebration and deep listening with Ensemble Dal Niente.

The group is celebrating the release of “portrait RE / Flux / Pacific Time,” an album of commissioned compositions from George Lewis, Carola Bauckholt, and Igor Santos.

The ensemble is entering its third decade of collaborative exploration, a huge milestone!

RSVP at link in bio.


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