Thomas Ankersmit is a musician and installation artist who lives and works in both Berlin and Amsterdam. Since 2006 Ankersmit has based work round a love of working with the Serge analogue modular synthesizer. His electronic music is characterized by a deliberate misuse of this instrument; using feedback and disruptions in the signal to create dense but finely detailed swarms of sound. His latest LP, ‘Figueroa Terrace’, created music for the original Serge synthesizers at CalArts and was released by the Touch label in 2014. The Quietus said thefollowingabout Thomas Ankersmit’s work on the venerable Serge; “Ankersmit makes this ancient beast of an instrument breathe, giving it life and, finally, teeth.”

Thomas Ankersmit will present his mastery of the Serge analogue synth, an instrument that rarely receives a spotlight in live performance. The Dutchpremiere of his solo act will feature the harnessing of a sound phenomenon known as otoacoustic emission, or in-ear tones. These “phantom sounds” are generated by listeners’ inner ears in response to certain sonic stimuli. The disturbing perception of sounds originating directly in one’s head has the tendency to obliterate any notion of space. In Ankersmit’s performance, in-ear tones and sounds conventionally perceived as coming from the loudspeakers form two intricately linked but distinct musical streams. The new performance was commissioned by OTO Projects in London.