Echo And Pup

About Me

Echo And Pup is a Melbourne-based, transgender, contemporary composer and sound artist whose work explores the compositional possibilities of Tibetan singing bowls through durational listening and acoustic resonance.

Working with a choir of antique bowls arranged in a semicircular performance space, Echo And Pup creates long-form compositions lasting between 20 and 60 minutes. Inspired by natural sound environments such as whalesong and other large-scale acoustic phenomena, the music unfolds gradually through sustained excitation, shifting overtone structures, and subtle changes in density. Rather than progressing through melody or rhythm, the works develop through the slow transformation of resonance, inviting audiences to engage with sound as a continuously evolving physical presence.

The project draws influence from the durational and ambient sound practices of Brian Eno, the emotional minimalism of Max Richter, and the sustained tonal environments pioneered by La Monte Young. Within this lineage, Echo And Pup approaches singing bowls not as background ambience but as precise acoustic instruments capable of generating complex overtone architectures.

Performances are shaped by an embodied spatial relationship between performer and instrument. Echo And Pup performs seated as a wheelchair user, with the bowls placed around her in close proximity. This orientation allows continuous physical engagement with the instruments and emphasises the tactile nature of vibration, pressure, and rotational motion. The spatial arrangement becomes part of the composition itself, forming a resonant field in which sound emerges gradually from the interaction between metal, friction, and sustained attention.

Underlying the work is a compositional framework known as rotational notation, a system developed specifically for singing bowls that allows the pieces to be structured and reproduced. The notation encodes patterns of excitation, density shifts, and temporal development while remaining closely tied to the physical behaviour of the instruments.

Echo And Pup’s performances exist at the intersection of contemporary composition, sound installation, and durational listening practice. By slowing the pace of musical development and foregrounding resonance itself as compositional material, the work invites audiences into an environment where listening becomes a form of introspection and time is experienced differently.

Artist Statement

Echo And Pup is a queer, neurodivergent and disabled artist working across experimental sound and acoustic research exploring the acoustic possibilities of Tibetan singing bowls as durational musical instruments. Working with a choir of antique bowls arranged around the performer, the compositions investigate resonance, overtone interaction, and the slow transformation of sustained tone within a shared acoustic space.

The work is informed by neurodivergent sensory experience. As a synaesthetic and autistic listener, Echo And Pup approaches sound through heightened sensitivity to vibration, resonance, and spatial echo. Long-duration tones create a stable acoustic field in which subtle sonic details can unfold slowly, allowing the ear to perceive micro-variations in texture, overtone relationships, and environmental reflections. Rather than treating these sensory differences as limitations, the practice embraces them as a compositional resource for investigating how sound behaves over extended durations.

The name Echo And Pup reflects two central influences within the practice. “Echo” refers to a fascination with how sound moves through space, particularly the way reflections and environmental resonance become part of the music itself. Rather than treating sound as a fixed object, the work listens closely to the echoes produced by architecture and atmosphere. “Pup” references the husky whose loss first inspired the artist to begin working with singing bowls as a way to process grief. The sustained tone of the bowls became a sonic gesture reminiscent of a distant howl, transforming personal memory into an ongoing musical exploration.

Many compositions are inspired by natural sound environments, particularly whalesong. Rather than directly imitating these sounds, the works attempt to translate aspects of their behaviour into acoustic form. Through sustained vibration and slowly shifting overtone structures, the music explores how large-scale natural soundscapes might be reinterpreted through a small ensemble of resonant metal instruments.

Slowness is central to the work. Inspired in part by the contemplative pacing of Nordic “slow television,” Echo And Pup treats time as a compositional material. The gradual unfolding of sound invites listeners to slow down and experience resonance without urgency, allowing attention to drift, settle, and return.

Performances are intentionally open in how audiences engage. Some listeners choose to sit or lie down, while others move quietly through the space. There is no expectation that a performance must be experienced from beginning to end. Instead, the music creates an acoustic environment that listeners may enter, leave, and return to at their own pace.

Through this practice, Echo And Pup continues to explore how singing bowls can function as structured instruments within contemporary experimental composition while remaining deeply connected to the sensory and emotional qualities of sound itself.