Sonorous XIV: Jaslyn Robertson & Rama Parwata

Step into an expanded universe of sound.

A liberation of sonics from the shackles of stereo, Sonorous welcomes audiences to go beyond a traditional listening experience into an expanded sonic universe.  

Marking the fourteenth edition of its Sonorous series, Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS) invites multidisciplinary composer Jaslyn Robertson and award-winning Naarm/Melbourne-based sound artist Rama Parwata to engage with the incredible instruments of the MESS collection. Crafting an immersive multichannel electroacoustic performance, these two extraordinary artists explore the potential of sound and diffuse these brand-new commissioned works in the acoustically rich Primrose Potter Salon.  

This is a rare chance to hear electroacoustic works in glorious octaphonic surround sound.

Tickets

Standard Chair
Standard $45 ($40 Concession)

Beanbag Chair 
Standard $55 ($50 Concession)

Please note, seating in the Primrose Potter Salon is General Admission.

A Transaction Fee between $4 and $8.50 applies to orders made online and by phone. Delivery Fees may also apply. A ticket limit of six is in place online to ensure fair ticket access for all. Want to bring a bigger party? Call our Box Office during business hours on (03) 9699 3333 to book.

About the Artists

Jaslyn Robertson is a multidisciplinary composer, electronic musician, and artistic researcher. Her work explores queerness, silence, and alternate temporalities through expanded forms of music notation, immersive multimedia, and spatial audio. Experimentation is at the core of her practice, and she often collaborates with improvising musicians, writers and fashion designers who share an inclination towards failure, humour, and stretched boundaries. Major performances include the premiere of her experimental chamber opera ‘Knots that Bind’ and works performed at Klangwerkstatt Berlin, BIFEM and MONA FOMA, as well as performing electronics in Cat Hope’s opera ‘Speechless’ in Hamburg. Jaslyn’s electronic music draws from the dirty, analogue friction of early synthesizer recordings. She performs noise-drone electronics solo as Drealm and in duos with Darlene Aaron (WE1 XAM) and Iran Sanadzadeh.

Rama Parwata is an award-winning Naarm/Melbourne-based composer and sound artist who has a distinguished reputation for his audacious and technical aural explorations in sound, texture and rhythm, drawing influence from Jazz, Extreme Metal, and Gamelan music from his Balinese and Indonesian heritage. Primarily working with percussion and experimental electronics, his works often navigate the liminal spaces between rhythm and noise, structure, and chaos.

Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS)  was founded by Robin Fox and Byron J Scullin and is dedicated to the creation of electronic sound and music. Representing one of the most eclectic and historically significant collections of electronic instruments worldwide, the ever-growing MESS collection is made available to creatives and the broader public to learn, play, and record with hundreds of electronic instruments at their fingertips.  

Sonorous is MESS's ongoing commissioning series devoted to multichannel concert works, providing artists with the resources, time, and creative space to forge boundary-transcending new compositions. This celebrated series has become a cornerstone of Naarm/Melbourne’s cultural calendar, inviting audiences to experience the vast creative potential of spatial composition and spatial listening.

The 27-plus commissioned works to date consistently demonstrate how creativity thrives when artists are given the time and freedom to engage deeply with sound. By supporting artists to experiment with octophonic diffusion and embrace the spatial possibilities of electronic music, MESS fosters an environment where unique and transformative works can flourish.