Kari Watson

My name is Kari Watson. I use they/them pronouns, and I am a Chicago-based composer, performer, and sound artist working across the mediums of contemporary concert music, electroacoustic music, live performance, and interactive installation.

What do you want to find out with your music?

My creative and scholarly work explores a range of musical and theoretical issues, such as physicality, attunement, and embodiment, often incorporating electronics as mediators or extensions of the human body. This line of inquiry stems equally from my performance practice with modular synthesizers and my growing interest in intermedia composition. Recent pieces also experiment with genre-bending and uncanny soundcraft, juxtaposing acoustic and electronic sound sources. These works reflect my written research on queerness, sonic drag, and the uncanny. I’ve recently been particularly interested in how acoustic instruments function within multimedia environments, exploring the types of interactions performers can have with electronics – empathy, antagonism, apathy, and beyond.

If anything was possible, WHERE would you like to have a concert someday?

I‘m also drawn to sound’s ability to transform space. If possible, I‘d love to create more pieces designed for unconventional locations – especially places where one wouldn’t expect to encounter acoustic and electronic sounds, such as in the clearing of a forest. I dream of performing in unique reverberant environments like canyons or caves, exploring the relationship between organic and inorganic sound sources from within a natural setting.

Does (your) music need a secure/safe space?

I believe music is intrinsically tied to its makers – it is inherently political and deeply intertwined with identity. The best environments for music and discourse are rooted in curiosity, open ears, and a commitment to engaging deeply with both the work and the person behind it. That is my hope for the kind of space in which my music can be heard.