On the complex and dynamic relationships between humans, nature, technology, and urban environments.
In »Urban Interference«, four radar arrays continuously scan their environment, emitting and receiving imperceptible waves that map the presence, movements, and gestures of both objects and humans. These ultra-high-frequency sensors, more commonly found in autonomous vehicles and security systems, transmit real-time spatial data to a central hub, where it is transformed by the artist into generative sound. Alongside this radar input, Jaspers taps into WiFi, Bluetooth, inner-city radio transmissions, and various radio frequencies to shape the final composition.
At its core, »Urban Interference« examines the collision and entanglement between technological systems and public life. The title evokes both literal and metaphorical interference: the electromagnetic noise saturating our surroundings and the socio-political disruptions caused by pervasive sensing infrastructures. The audience is not merely an observer but a participant; each movement reshapes the evolving sonic environment, making the body a live input to the machine’s sensory apparatus. Drawing on theories of spatial aesthetics and media ecology, the work reflects on how cities are increasingly understood not through human perception, but through machinic sensing. It critiques the abstraction of lived experience into data flows, yet rather than resisting this, Jaspers reclaims it, transforming raw signals into a shared, audible presence. The installation proposes a poetic counter-narrative: one where the data trails we leave behind become not mechanisms of control, but instruments of collective resonance, the installation invites us to reconsider how our bodies inhabit public space and how they are seen, sensed and shaped by the invisible architectures of technology. In doing so, it surfaces urgent questions of agency, privacy and participation – reminding us that in the contemporary urban fabric, even silence speaks, and stillness resounds.
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Wouter Jaspers is a composer/performer and electro-acoustic sound artist exploring the narrative potential of sound through field recordings, radio experiments, analog noise, and immersive performance. His work transcends genre boundaries and moves fluidly between diverse musical scenes, from experimental noise to structured compositions. Active worldwide for over 20 years, he currently collaborates with many other artists including Frans de Waard (Ezdanitoff), Hainbach (Odd Narrative), Bendik Giske and Ensemble KNM Berlin. He was co-founder and chief designer of KOMA Elektronik, where he developed the Field Kit series – introducing many musicians to electro-acoustic music practice. His recent work focuses on research-driven sound projects, supported by grants and residencies across the Americas, East Asia, Europe and the SWANA region. In 2021, he launched Sonic Artefacts, producing custom microphones, sensors and instruments, and actively collaborates with the sound art association Sonoscopia in Porto, Portugal.
