Introduction

Kevin Toksöz Fairbairn is a sound artist and musician working around the edges of installation, improvisation, composition, and craftsmanship. He publishes about sound studies, artistic research, and musicology, and has given masterclasses and lectures throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. He is an accomplished instrument builder and performs on a variety of instruments of his own design and construction, with which he appears regularly throughout Europe and worldwide. He is a passionate exponent for the values of collaboration and community in artistic production and works regularly with many different creative partners and groups, championing both young and emerging composers and artists as well as working alongside established ensembles including Klangforum Wien, Talea Ensemble, and Collegium Novum Zürich. He received his PhD in artistic research from Leiden University in 2020, where his dissertation on the performance practice of experimental music notations received special distinction. His monograph, dis/cord: Thinking Sound through Agential Realism, was published by punctum books in 2022.