Nov 16, Reforesters Laboratory (Williamsburg)
@drewmcdowall
Drew McDowall is a composer and sound artist known for his contributions to experimental and electronic music. His work explores the outer edges of sound through intricate modular synthesis, field recordings, deconstructed samples, and unconventional compositional techniques. Renowned for its immersive and abstract qualities, McDowall’s music blends electronic and acoustic elements to craft complex, evolving sonic environments.
In the early 1980s, McDowall moved to London, where he became involved with key figures in the UK’s industrial music scene, including Genesis P-Orridge, David Tibet, Peter Christopherson, and John Balance. His work with Psychic TV led to his collaboration with Coil, eventually becoming a full-time member. Tasked with helping steer the group in a new direction, McDowall played a significant role in shaping Coil’s later works, which fused ritualistic practice with sonic exploration. His influence is especially evident on albums such as Time Machines (1998)—a seminal work in drone music—and Music to Play in the Dark (1999).
His latest album, A Thread Silvered and Trembling (2024), continues his lifelong fascination with pibroch (piobaireachd in Gaelic)—the elegiac solo bagpipe tradition often used for laments and tributes to the dead. The album alchemizes laments and tributes to the dead reinterpreting the tuning systems of Scottish bagpipe music through modular synthesis, acoustic instruments, voice, and electronic processing, weaving flickering dissonance with plaintive melodies.
Magnetism, a collaboration with Kali Malone was released on Ideologic Organ on November 11, 2025.
As a key figure in modern experimental music, McDowall bridges the industrial traditions of the past with the evolving possibilities of electronic composition today.
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@clips.split
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care. is a quiet counterpoint to the noise. Nothing loud, everything felt. It’s an ongoing invitation to listen with intention. Each iteration is responsive, shaped by the specifics of place and presence.