Jake Williams is a composer, DJ, scholar and educator whose practice intersects digital turntablism, soundscape composition, noise, dub and club music. Using field recordings, internet archives, Shazam and his own studio productions, he creates edge-of-your-seat improvised DJ performances that draw discursive links between various experimental and dancefloor music cultures and often explore the politics of public music-playing.
He cut his teeth playing live electronics with the Warp-signed avant-jazz band Red Snapper, alongside creating music and sound design for major TV shows and the occasional well-received techno record. Since then he has :
- Performed solo turntablist shows at venues such as: IKLECTIK; Dome Concert Hall, Birmingham; Café OTO; New River Studios; ICMC Festival, Dublin; and NTS Radio.
- Collaborated on audio-visual shows including: residencies at SAT (Montreal), The Island (Bristol), and PAC (South Wales); performances at Mutek Festival (Montreal), Open Out Festival (Tromso, Norway), NIME Festival (London), Splice Festival (London) and Abney Park Chapel (London). He also consulted on visual artist Dinos Chapman’s international-touring live audio-visual show.
- Written peer-reviewed papers and book chapters on DJing, sociology, education and urbanism. He has recently co-edited a special edition of the Organised Sound journal entitled Radical Education in Electronic Music Education Past and Present.
- Produced and mixed releases for various critically acclaimed collaborative projects.
- Held experimental digital DJ workshops at IKLECTIK, New River Studios, several universities and various schools as well as lecturing on MA and BA Music Production programmes at LCC and ICMP, London.
- Completed a practice-based PhD at the University of Birmingham (2024) exploring the creative possibilties of digital DJ technology.
He is also a founder member of the electronic free improvisation group Spectral Karaoke.
Photo by Matt Favero / @liminalwarp / live at IKLECTIK
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