Matthew Sansom
BMus, PhD
Lecturer in Music
Educated at Sheffield University and the University of North Texas, Matthew Sansom completed his PhD under Eric Clarke in 1997. During his doctoral research he fell under the influences of Sheffield’s club culture and electronic music scene on the one hand, and its free and improvised music scene, on the other. A heady mix of free improvisation, DJing, musicology, samplers, clubbing and psychology forged a diverse range of interests and skills. Matthew’s research crosses several areas including: composition, installation art, improvisation, and theories of creativity, musical meaning and popular culture.
As a composer and artist in the area of electronic music production and sound design, his work covers a broad range from beat-based electronica to installation pieces. Recent works, in contrast to his groove-based output, have explored a more direct and transparent use of sound sources (e.g. football crowds, radio broadcasts, factory sounds, location recordings). Having originally trained as a saxophonist, live performance remains an important activity for Matthew. Work in this area explores combinations of improvisation, DJ and studio skills, and live electronics. Collaborative projects with artists from the visual arts, dance and theatre are central to Matthew’s practice. His work has been performed internationally, including the Centre for Contemporary Arts (Glasgow), Korean Institute of Culture (Seoul), and t-u-b-egalerie für radiophone kunst installationen und audio-performances (Munich). Areas of theoretical interest include musical meaning and identity, and their the relationship with technology and culture.
Matthew has taught at Leeds College of Music, University of Sheffield, University of Derby, and was for four years Programme Director for the BMus in Contemporary and Popular Music at Newcastle University.
E-mail: M.Sansom@Surrey.ac.uk
Web site: www.matthewsansom.info
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