Alex Mackay

Thesis

Thesis

Between untethered and tethered sonic practice: the intersection of arts and research institutions and DIY cultures in contemporary electronic music

Supervisor: Dr Federico Reuben

While artists creating electronic music are no longer reliant on access to facilities provided by arts and research institutions to create their work, independent artists continue to access such facilities through ‘artist-in-residence’ programmes. Through practice research and qualitative methods this project aims to investigate how institution-based and DIY music cultures intersect through residency programmes.

Ethnographic and sociological studies have been conducted on DIY creative practices and cultures, often centred on specific communities as well as electronic music institutions. However, the interactions between these institutions and DIY practices and cultures in established and emerging ‘AiR’ programmes have not been studied in depth; this research aims to interrogate how both DIY and institutional creative practices and cultures intersect in ways that enable contemporary practicioners and communities to sustain activity in today's socio-economic climate.

Biography

Biography

Alex Mackay works across forms of experimental and electroacoustic music, creating solo and collaborative works spanning recorded, live and multimedia environments.

Working with electronic and acoustic sound, works are constructed through iterative cycles; compositional structures of time and harmonic space expand and contract in tandem with physical processes initiated through projection of sound into spaces and materials, then captured, recycled and recaptured.

Their solo projects are informed by extensive collaborative relationships, including work as a recording and mixing engineer specialising in experimental music and sound art, and as touring multi-instrumentalist with Scottish band Mogwai.

They hold a BMus (Hons) in Composition from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and an MA in Music Production from the University of York, where they subsequently taught at BA/MA level in the School of Arts and Creative Technologies, and are currently pursuing doctoral research supported by the White Rose College of Arts and Humanities.

Research

Research Interests

Experimental music
Sonic art
Electronic & electroacoustic music
Studio-based composition
DIY creative practices and cultures
Sociology, economics and politics of creative practice

External activity

External activity

'Omega Block Cycles' (MA practice research presentation); Silent Festival (Terlizzi, Italy), 2022

'Hearing the Unheard: towards blueprint on filling data gaps in audio engineering, sound technology and music production'; AES Europe Convention (Madrid, Spain), 2024

'Hearing the Unheard: Creating inclusive guidelines for music perception and production research'; Society for Music Production Research Conference (Victoria, Canada), 2025