Beyond the Loudspeaker
- Loud Ladder 03:50
- Rotation
- Ice Tones
- All together, Not at Once 05:42
- Victorian Relay
- Shepherds Spark
- Everything Processed 02:28
- Jacobs Horn
Released: 1 December 2026 on Room40 (Digital Only)
Beyond the Loudspeaker is a series of performance-installations by Dirty Electronics and Tim Shaw that investigates how to create electronic sound without relying on conventional loudspeakers.
While most electronic music depends on loudspeakers for both production and performance, this project explores alternative sound-making methods. High-voltage sparks, plasma speakers, transduction and various electromechanical devices are used to activate objects and bring sound to life in unexpected ways.
The installation features a range of DIY instruments, including: Spark Jugs, Plasma-Induced Fluorescent Tubes, Franklin Bells, Dry Ice, a Jacob’s Ladder, Air-Compressed Melodicas, a Xenon Camera Flash, Spark Field, Motor Garden, Motor Mice, Bottle Top Bucket, Self-Inflating Balloons, Car Horns, Relays, Transducers, Flickering Light Bulbs, and Telephone Bells.
Beyond the Loudspeaker was developed with Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong and presented at the Sound Forms Festival at Tai Kwun Contemporary, as well as at Newcastle Contemporary Art.
These recordings come from the March 2024 exhibition of Beyond the Loudspeaker at Newcastle Contemporary Art (UK). The gallery’s large, reverberant space is captured through a series of spontaneous “spot” recordings. These recordings were later layered to create a kind of meta-document of the installation. There is no fixed beginning or end; instead, listeners are invited to navigate the dense sonic environment themselves, wandering through the space by ear, shaping their own auditory journey.
All tracks recorded at Newcastle Contemporary Art by Tim Shaw (T M Shaw) and John Richards (Dirty Electronics)
Thanks to Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong (Karen Yu & Him Cheung) and Newcastle Contemporary Art (Toby Lloyd).
Mastered by Lawrence English at Negative Space
Beyond the Loudspeaker, Sound Forms Festival, Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong [Image: Winston Yeung, 2023]
Beyond the Loudspeaker, Newcastle Contemporary Art, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK [Image: Toby Lloyd, 2024]