Described as a "vanguard" by British publication Mixmag and "fearless" by Hyponik, Berlin-based Zoë Mc Pherson is a French-Irish multimedia artist whose practice absorbs elements of performance, sound design, installation art and DJing. Their breathless third album "Pitch Blender" is a tight set of cybernetic dancefloor experiments that flicker between the rave and the art space, and arrives courtesy of SFX, the boundary-pushing A/V-focused label Mc Pherson runs with their long-time collaborator Alessandra Leone.
Since the release of their immersive 2018 debut album "String Figures" and its acclaimed 2020 follow-up "States of Fugue", Mc Pherson has performed across the world, appearing at Berlin's CTM Festival, Nyege Nyege in Jinja, Uganda, Freerotation in the UK, Meakusma in Belgium, Madrid's LEV, Amsterdam’s FIBER festival, Elevate Festival in Graz and Malmö's Inkonst. They've presented spatial sound installations at Berlin's world-famous MONOM (the world's first 4DSOUND system), Silent Green amongst others, and work alongside bULt, in Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, to invite musicians to perform and hold workshops at a brand new queer-owned club.
A seasoned collaborator, Mc Pherson maintains an ongoing project with renowned French sound artist Jessica Ekomane. The two performed a special project at Berghain's Halle broadcast by ARTE TV, and their first recording was released on Ostgut Ton's "Fünfzehn + 1" compilation. On the other end of their creative spectrum, Carbon 96 finds Mc Pherson teaming up with US techno producer and DJ Ciarra Black, and the duo's effervescent debut "Carbonated" was released on Peder Mannerfelt Produktion earlier this year. Their most recent project however is 3OK, a frenetic project that was conceptualized in Uganda and matches Mc Pherson's sci-fi sonics with singeli pioneer Jay Mitta's breakneck beats and Malian veteran DJ Diaki's unmistakable soundsystem energy.
CREATIVE DIRECTION
bULt x SFX | music, club and workshop curation at bULt queer run club | Almaty, Kazakhstan | 2022
XquisiteForce.collection/01 | Compilation in support of the people of Beirut | 2020
XquisiteForce.AV | collaborative audiovisual project | 2021
SFX | label platform and community | Berlin DE | 2020
String Figures festival at Beursschouwburg | Brussels BE | 2018
LAMF - european experimental artistic laboratory | Lyon FR | 2013
SPATIAL SOUND INSTALLATIONS
WOMEN, LIFE, FREEDOM | 4D sound installation | Monom | 2022
IN ABSTENTIA | Multichannel sound installation | Silent Green Berlin DE | 2021
ON HOLD | Multichannel sound installation | Aljhambra Berlin DE | 2021
SOUND INSTALLATIONS
DISTINGUISH BS | Sound installation | Siestes Electroniques | Toulouse FR | 2021
FUTURECORE 2000 | Sound installation | Kraftwerk Bille | Hamburg DE | 2019
String Figures | Aberration | Galerie Irrgang | Berlin DE | 2017
Rainforest | STUK | Leuven BE | 2016
Reitir | Siglufjordur IS | 2016
«Seismographic Sounds. Visions of a New World» | Bethanien | Rojava sound installation & conference at CTM festival | Berlin DE | 2016
Museum night fever | Brussels BE | 2014
SOLO MUSIC RELEASES
[SF04] PITCH BLENDER | SFX | 2023
ABYSS ELIXIR | Pendulum Recordings | EP / Vinyl | 2022
[SF03] GROUNDING IN OUTER SPACE | SFX | AV piece | 2020
[SF02] TENACE | SFX | AV piece | 2020
[SF02] STATES OF FUGUE | SFX | LP/Vinyl | 2020
[SF01RMX] STRING FIGURES | SVS RECORDS | EP/Vinyl | 2018
[SF01] STRING FIGURES | SVS RECORDS | AV album / LP / Live show | 2018
IRIZAJN | Self-release | Tape EP | 2014
COLLECTIVE MUSIC RELEASES
The Wire | Below The Radar Special Edition: SHAPE 2021 | CD | 2022
Ostgut Ton | Fünfzehn + 1 compilation | “Iteration” Jessica Ekomane & Zoë Mc Pherson | CD and Vinyl | Ostgut Ton | 2021
Oscillate & Shimmer | Klahrk | E-merge Stgy by Klahrk & Zoë Mc Pherson | LP | SFX | 2021
KMRU & Aho Shan + Myriam Bleau + Zoë Mc Pherson | Digital | Hot Desk | 2020
XquisiteForce.collection/01 compilation | “Hayati” by Simon Grab, Dali de St Paul and Zoë Mc Pherson | SFX | Digital - 2020
LV VA 12-1 compilation | “ALVA“ by Zoë Mc Pherson | LAVALAVA records | Vinyl | 2020
KSH03 SONIC RESISTANCE. A compilation for Rojav | Ishtar #2 (for Rojava) by Zoë Mc Pherson feat. Gernas Maao / ORAMICS, Kashev tapes | CD | 2020
Plafond 5 by Rupert Cerveaux & Zoë Mc Pherson | BAKK PLAFOND SERIES | Vinyl | 2019
Weaponize your sound compilation | “Thumb Governance” by Zoë Mc Pherson | OPTIMO | LP | 2019
LI$016 compilation | Low Income Squad | Tape | 2019
ROJAVA compilation | Female:Pressure | Solidarity Digital release | 2016
Mind the gap compilation | Gonzo Circus | CD | 2016
COMMISSIONED REMIXES
L Twills VOX remix | [Freedom/Fiction] REMIXES | LP | 2020
Gillie Mc Pherson Dark Dream remix | ER001 Euphonic Rythms | LP | 2020
Contagious remix | MORPHINE | Vinyl | 2019
Christina Vantzou N4 remix | Digital | 2019
SELECTED LIVE PERFORMANCES
BERGHAIN main “3OK” | 2022
BERGHAIN Halle | Berlin, DE | 2021
CTM festival | Berlin, DE | 2021
POSITIVE EDUCATION festival | St Etienne, FR | 2021
FIBER festival | Amsterdam, NL | 2021
LEV festival | Madrid, ES | 2021
INKONST | Malmö, SU | 2021
KRAKE festival | Berlin, DE | 2020
MUTABOR | Moscow, RU | 2019
KAIKU | Helsinki, FI | 2019
CONCRETE | Paris, FR | 2019
ULE HELI Festival | Tallinn, EST | 2019
CONCRETE | Paris, FR | 2019
UNCLOUD | Ultrecht, NL | 2019
KAIKU | Helsinki, FI | 2019
ROOM 4 RESISTANCE | Berlin, DE | 2019
CWB | Paris, FR | 2019
BRDCST | Brussels, BE | 2019
PALACE | St Gallen, CH | 2019
ZVUK | Алматы, KZ | 2019
FREEROTATION festival | UK | 2019
BOILER ROOM | Berlin, DE | 2018
MEAKUSMA FESTIVAL | Eupen, BE | 2018
DE SCHOOL | Amsterdam, NL | 2018
SPLICE FESTIVAL | London, UK | 2018
H0L0 | New York, US | 2018
BEURSSCHOUWBURG | Brussels, BE | 2017
DUBLAB | Los Angeles, US | 2017
DOME OF VISIONS | Aarhus, DK | 2016
NOTTINGHAM CONTEMPORARY | Nottingham, UK | 2016
MATCH & FUSE FESTIVAL | London, UK | 2016
SCHIEV FESTIVAL | Brussels, BE | 2016
LES NUITS BOTANIQUE | Brussels, BE | 2016
ARKAODA | Istanbul, TK | 2016
LEFTORIUM | Brussels, BE | 2015
MENGI | Reykjavik, IS I 2015
ARTISTIC RESIDENCIES
MONOME | Berlin, DE | 2022
AFROPOLLINATION | Kampala, UG | 2022
SHAPE | 2021-2022
PALACE | PL | 2021
PHONETICS | St Denis, FR | 2021
SVS | Canfranc, ES | 2021
INKONST | Malmö, SU | 2021
PALACE | PL | 2020
LYL RADIO | 2020
NOODS RADIO | 2020
RED BULL STUDIOS | Berlin, DE | 2019
RED BULL STUDIOS | Amsterdam, NL | 2019
SVS | Lisboa, PT | 2018
RMC | Copenhagen, DK | 2018
BEURSSCHOUWBURG | Brussels, BE | 2018
ELEKTRON MUSIK STUDION | Stockholm, SE | 2017
BEURSSCHOUWBURG | Brussels, BE | 2017
RAINFOREST | STUK Leuven, BE | 2016
STUDIO DES VARIETES | Brussels, BE | 2016
MUSICMAKERS HACKLAB | STUK Leuven, BE | 2016
REITIR | Siglugjördur, IS | 2016
TALKS AND WORKSHOPS
Sound design workshop | mediale Architekturdarstellung - mAD | Hannover, DE | 2022
Audiovisual collaboration workshop | CAMP | Pyrénnes, FR | 2022
3D sound Workshop | Almaty, Kazakhstan | 2022
Artist talk | All_Go_Rhythm___Gallerie Oqbo | Berlin, DE | 2021
Ableton workshop | Palace, PL | 2021
Artist talk | Arts formation UK | 2021
Field recording workshop | Almaty, KZ | 2019
Artist talk | Creative Coding | Utrecht, NL | 2019
Artist talk | Feuerwache Köln, DE | 2018
Artist talk | Aberration | Galerie Irrgang Berlin, DE | 2017
SOUND DESIGN
MAISON TASKIN | Mixed Reality Fashion Film | 2022
ELASTIQUE | Creative agency for brand communication | 2022
FUTURECORE 2000, all beats are beautiful | Dance Performance by Gloria Hockner | 2019
WITHIN | Installation by Tarek Atoui at Kunstenfestivaldesarts | 2018
VOX | Dance piece by David Hernandez, scenography by Zdravka Kirigin | 2019
In Dreams for Klara radio BE | Rework of Dion Mc Gregor’s dreamworld | 2018
AZ | Dance piece by choreographer Aki Iwamoto | 2018
SELECTED AWARDS & GRANTS
Initiative Musik | 2022
Musikfond stipendium | 2022
SHAPE artist | 2021
Musikfond stipendium | 2020
Berlin Music Board project fund | 2020
First price ‘Les Octaves de la musique | category electronic music | 2019
Best music video at Berlin Independent Film festival | 2019
Best experimental video at Berlin Music Video Awards | 2018
Vimeo staff pick | 2018
Associated artist at Beursschouwburg Brussels | from 2017 to 2019
Development grant from flanders, state of the art | BE | 2018
Project grant from flanders, state of the art | BE | 2017
SELECTED PRESS
...More press here ...
The Wire interview by Oli Warwick - April 2023
Dazed interview
DJ Mag : Selections
“ZOË MC PHERSON delights in the unpredictable. On their third album, 'Pitch Blender', the Berlin-based, French-Irish artist conjures beats that spark, swerve and explode like rogue fireworks. Across 10 tracks, hyperkinetic drums reference footwork, drill & bass and the high-speed sound of singeli, but their music really operates on a plane of its own. These synapse-snapping patterns and polyrhythms are pieced together thanks to Mc Pherson's impeccable sound design, through which they build a dazzling, widescreen world out of shapeshifting synths, shadowy vocal chops and mercurial bass. It's a mind-melting formula that Mc Pherson has developed over years as a multimedia artist, producer, DJ, live performer and founder of the SFX label and AV platform. They've performed at festivals including Berlin's CTM and Uganda's Nyege Nyege, and have collaborated with artists like Jessica Ekomane, Ciarra Black, and DJ Diaki & Jay Mitta (as 3OK), bringing an exhilarating sense of invention and ambition to every project”
BBC6 - Mary Ann Hobbs Music of the near future : “Blender” track premiere
The Wire - premiere “Wait” track premiere
Exberliner magazine interview
ELECTRONIC BEATS Class of 2021: the artists who brightened up the year
FACT Signal Path : Zoë Mc Pherson on mangling sound and multimedia collaboration | filmed interview
GLAMCULT | Interview | An artist that makes us feel the music with every FIBER of our being.
MANIFESTO | filmed interview
ARTE TV live & interview
CDM “The producer’s the one dancing, in new video for Zoë Mc Pherson”
FACT mix Believe us when we say this is one you’ll want to play loud.
Bandcamp best of February 2020 by Joe Muggs
“Each of these jams, whether they flutter delicately or thunder with kickdrums, sounds like ritual music from some post-human society”
Hyponik by Esme Bennett
“Adventurous and elusive, the album is a comprehensive dive into ‘electro-naturalism’, manipulating her own vocal work as an instrument for glitch-rife glossy soundscapes. The result is a rousing body of hybrid techno-artistry for a multiplex of listening.”
DJmag
Zoë Mc Pherson’s latest body of work — to be released this February — is testament to her evolving as an artist in every sense of the word.
‘States of Fugue’ displays her innate talent for melding experimental sounds with the principles of dance music
Boomkat charts 2020
Dissonnant 30 albums we played like mad in 2020
RwdFwd 2020 choice!
SBVRSV Requiem for 2020 - 25 albums
Gin & Platonic favourite albums of 2020
CDM The producer’s the one dancing, in new video for Zoë Mc Pherson
TAZ Revival der Breakbeats
CXEMA live recording and interview by Tanya Voytko
“We were very lucky and experienced freedom. For sure, this kind of crossmedia connection is obviously present in my work.”
Inkonst interview
Panopticon interview
Trax Mag by Jean Paul Deniaud
Qui est zoë mc pherson, la surdouée qui transforme le son de la nature en polyphonie électronique ?
Subbacultcha The Best of Belgium
“With String Figures the interdisciplinary artist from Brussels succeeded in creating a perfect blend of richly layered textures of noise, traditional and club music. This could be a new treasure if you’re into Holly Herndon, Lucrecia Dalt and Lotic”
Dazed interview
DJ Mag : Selections
“ZOË MC PHERSON delights in the unpredictable. On their third album, 'Pitch Blender', the Berlin-based, French-Irish artist conjures beats that spark, swerve and explode like rogue fireworks. Across 10 tracks, hyperkinetic drums reference footwork, drill & bass and the high-speed sound of singeli, but their music really operates on a plane of its own. These synapse-snapping patterns and polyrhythms are pieced together thanks to Mc Pherson's impeccable sound design, through which they build a dazzling, widescreen world out of shapeshifting synths, shadowy vocal chops and mercurial bass. It's a mind-melting formula that Mc Pherson has developed over years as a multimedia artist, producer, DJ, live performer and founder of the SFX label and AV platform. They've performed at festivals including Berlin's CTM and Uganda's Nyege Nyege, and have collaborated with artists like Jessica Ekomane, Ciarra Black, and DJ Diaki & Jay Mitta (as 3OK), bringing an exhilarating sense of invention and ambition to every project”
BBC6 - Mary Ann Hobbs Music of the near future : “Blender” track premiere
The Wire - premiere “Wait” track premiere
Exberliner magazine interview
ELECTRONIC BEATS Class of 2021: the artists who brightened up the year
FACT Signal Path : Zoë Mc Pherson on mangling sound and multimedia collaboration | filmed interview
GLAMCULT | Interview | An artist that makes us feel the music with every FIBER of our being.
MANIFESTO | filmed interview
ARTE TV live & interview
CDM “The producer’s the one dancing, in new video for Zoë Mc Pherson”
FACT mix Believe us when we say this is one you’ll want to play loud.
Bandcamp best of February 2020 by Joe Muggs
“Each of these jams, whether they flutter delicately or thunder with kickdrums, sounds like ritual music from some post-human society”
Hyponik by Esme Bennett
“Adventurous and elusive, the album is a comprehensive dive into ‘electro-naturalism’, manipulating her own vocal work as an instrument for glitch-rife glossy soundscapes. The result is a rousing body of hybrid techno-artistry for a multiplex of listening.”
DJmag
Zoë Mc Pherson’s latest body of work — to be released this February — is testament to her evolving as an artist in every sense of the word.
‘States of Fugue’ displays her innate talent for melding experimental sounds with the principles of dance music
Boomkat charts 2020
Dissonnant 30 albums we played like mad in 2020
RwdFwd 2020 choice!
SBVRSV Requiem for 2020 - 25 albums
Gin & Platonic favourite albums of 2020
CDM The producer’s the one dancing, in new video for Zoë Mc Pherson
TAZ Revival der Breakbeats
CXEMA live recording and interview by Tanya Voytko
“We were very lucky and experienced freedom. For sure, this kind of crossmedia connection is obviously present in my work.”
Inkonst interview
Panopticon interview
Trax Mag by Jean Paul Deniaud
Qui est zoë mc pherson, la surdouée qui transforme le son de la nature en polyphonie électronique ?
Subbacultcha The Best of Belgium
“With String Figures the interdisciplinary artist from Brussels succeeded in creating a perfect blend of richly layered textures of noise, traditional and club music. This could be a new treasure if you’re into Holly Herndon, Lucrecia Dalt and Lotic”
Boiler room by Paul Hanford
“Live tonight, Zoe and Alessandra’s multidisciplinary methods are an alchemy of old practices finding new technologies. I watch as string figures loop across the vertical phone-shaped screen that are then curiously mirrored in the raised phones of captivated guests: recording, looping and relaying their own experience.”
Nowness by M. Hansen
“Traditional Inuit culture meets techno-futurism in this beguiling audio-visual explosion”
The Wire by Tristan Bath
“String Figures manages to remain as challenging as it is danceable, and Mc Pherson’s electroacoustic blend packs and energetic physical punch.”
Mixmag by Thomas H Green
“With String Figures, Zoë Mc Pherson proves she’s at contemporary music’s vanguard, it’s one of the year’s most intriguing LPs, exploring the area where tribalistic rhythms meet electronica.”
Electronic Sound by JB
“Barring a few examples, most tracks on the project veer from the four/four with polyrhythms taking centre stage, giving the album a looser, tripper feel. « Inoui (and free) », probably the best of the lot, tempers with rhythm almost at a whim, you have to hear the beat-switch around the three minute-mark to believe it. Buy on sight and without though.”
XLR8
“String Figures, exploring the disappearance of cultures as they clash with Westernism and virtual spaces. Bringing in a range of equipment including hardware electronics, throat singing, live instrumentation, and a huge range of ethnographic samples, she uses the idea of "String Figures" (an early means of communication) as a metaphor for this clashing of worlds.”
Bleep
“Dense layers of electronic noise, processed recordings of inuit throat singing and rhythmic persistence come together on this fantastic new LP from sound artist Zoe McPherson.”
A Closer Listen by Richard Allen
“The music feels vibrant and alive: not a homogenization of influences but a collection of disparate sounds; not a melting pot, but an expression of diversity.[...] By giving the Inuit expression (not simply using them as a sound source, but as a continuing thread), she underlines their value. You are important to me, she says. I hear you.[...] She echoes the teaching of Chief Seattle, drawing nature and beast together as one. By integrating international sounds, she suggests the possibility of new tribes, new alliances. While this does not seem to be the direction in which governments are headed, it does seem to be the direction in which artists are headed, testifying to the power of art as social force. The forward-thinking direction of this music suggests the possibility of forward-thinking politics.”
Booooooom
“Leone translates Mc Pherson’s sonic mediations into elaborately choreographed gestures both beautiful and haunting. As Leone describes it, the film captures the dialogue not just between fingers and hands but between bodies, the “continuous weaving” and “patterning of possible worlds and possible times.” Only here: “Zoë is narrator/instigator, conducting carefully orchestrated rituals as a way of thoroughly exploring the relational ties within the concept. The dancers speak their physical language by expanding contracting and interweaving within the string loop.”
The Arts Desk vinyl of the month by Thomas H Green
“For anyone who wishes to hear one of the year’s most fascinating, invigorating vanguard records, it’s a one stop shop.“
Freq by David Solomons
“With String Figures, Mc Pherson has produced a pulsing, undulating serpent of an album. It is a wonderful piece of work, both emic and etic, and prodigiously rewarding in both. Assemble a field kit and make your way through it as soon as you can.”
The Quietus «Escape Velocity» interview by Tristan Bath
“Live tonight, Zoe and Alessandra’s multidisciplinary methods are an alchemy of old practices finding new technologies. I watch as string figures loop across the vertical phone-shaped screen that are then curiously mirrored in the raised phones of captivated guests: recording, looping and relaying their own experience.”
Nowness by M. Hansen
“Traditional Inuit culture meets techno-futurism in this beguiling audio-visual explosion”
The Wire by Tristan Bath
“String Figures manages to remain as challenging as it is danceable, and Mc Pherson’s electroacoustic blend packs and energetic physical punch.”
Mixmag by Thomas H Green
“With String Figures, Zoë Mc Pherson proves she’s at contemporary music’s vanguard, it’s one of the year’s most intriguing LPs, exploring the area where tribalistic rhythms meet electronica.”
Electronic Sound by JB
“Barring a few examples, most tracks on the project veer from the four/four with polyrhythms taking centre stage, giving the album a looser, tripper feel. « Inoui (and free) », probably the best of the lot, tempers with rhythm almost at a whim, you have to hear the beat-switch around the three minute-mark to believe it. Buy on sight and without though.”
XLR8
“String Figures, exploring the disappearance of cultures as they clash with Westernism and virtual spaces. Bringing in a range of equipment including hardware electronics, throat singing, live instrumentation, and a huge range of ethnographic samples, she uses the idea of "String Figures" (an early means of communication) as a metaphor for this clashing of worlds.”
Bleep
“Dense layers of electronic noise, processed recordings of inuit throat singing and rhythmic persistence come together on this fantastic new LP from sound artist Zoe McPherson.”
A Closer Listen by Richard Allen
“The music feels vibrant and alive: not a homogenization of influences but a collection of disparate sounds; not a melting pot, but an expression of diversity.[...] By giving the Inuit expression (not simply using them as a sound source, but as a continuing thread), she underlines their value. You are important to me, she says. I hear you.[...] She echoes the teaching of Chief Seattle, drawing nature and beast together as one. By integrating international sounds, she suggests the possibility of new tribes, new alliances. While this does not seem to be the direction in which governments are headed, it does seem to be the direction in which artists are headed, testifying to the power of art as social force. The forward-thinking direction of this music suggests the possibility of forward-thinking politics.”
Booooooom
“Leone translates Mc Pherson’s sonic mediations into elaborately choreographed gestures both beautiful and haunting. As Leone describes it, the film captures the dialogue not just between fingers and hands but between bodies, the “continuous weaving” and “patterning of possible worlds and possible times.” Only here: “Zoë is narrator/instigator, conducting carefully orchestrated rituals as a way of thoroughly exploring the relational ties within the concept. The dancers speak their physical language by expanding contracting and interweaving within the string loop.”
The Arts Desk vinyl of the month by Thomas H Green
“For anyone who wishes to hear one of the year’s most fascinating, invigorating vanguard records, it’s a one stop shop.“
Freq by David Solomons
“With String Figures, Mc Pherson has produced a pulsing, undulating serpent of an album. It is a wonderful piece of work, both emic and etic, and prodigiously rewarding in both. Assemble a field kit and make your way through it as soon as you can.”
The Quietus «Escape Velocity» interview by Tristan Bath
RECORDED MIXES
FACT | 2020
EOS radio | 2021
Dice | 2021
Radio Raheem | 2021
Eotrax mix series | 2020
NTS | 2018
Noods | 2020
Rinse fm | 2019
C- | 2020
Radio 3000 | 2020
The Lot | 2018
Red light | 2018
The Word | 2016
Kiosk | 2017
Heads | 2020
Radio Quantica | 2019
Cashmere | 2019
Dublab | 2017
Radio 8000 | 2022
Refuge Radio Worldwide | 2022
RADIO SHOWS
Bi-monthly show ‘Pulse sur-mesure’on LYL radio :
#0 with Breakwave & Sukitoa O Namau | 2020
#1 with Jessica Ekomane & NVST | 2020
#2 with Ehua & Golden Medusa | 2020
#3 with KLAHRK & Ice Eyes | 2021
#4 with GOD69 & LABOUR | 2021
#5 with Amazinggaijin & NAZIRA | 2021
#6 with DJ AfroOankali & Katatonic Silentio | 2021
#7 with Leala Rain & Sarra Wild | 2021
#8 Jungle & bass music special | 2021
#9 with Jessika Khazrik and Filter Dread | 2022
#10 Ukranian special with EXAEL and Airali | 2022
#11 Kazakh special with Falyakon and Ludwig Wandinger | 2022
Bi-monthly show ‘Pulse sur-mesure’on moved Refuge Radio Worldwide, in Berlin
#12 B2B with Jessica Ekomane