ZHAO JIAJING
赵嘉旌



Acousmatic Compositions

Installations & Multimedia

Sound Design & Soundtracks

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CV
Glitchopolis
Electroacoustic Composition //2023-2024
16-channel (3rd Order Ambisonics)
6’50”


Glitchopolis is an electroacoustic composition exploring information overload. Drawing inspiration from the metropolis of London, the piece captures the intense flux of information through countless encounters, dynamic traffic, and bustling construction sites.

Leveraging the expansive sound canvas of an ambisonic surround sound system, Glitchopolis crafts a condensed, morphing auditory landscape using primarily field recordings obtained in London city. The composition unfolds across two layers of musical space: a realistic space featuring intensive sound collages created with field recordings, and an abstract mental space characterised by artificial reverb and granular processing. The mental layer of space serves as a playground for glitching and feedback as analogies for overwhelm. The composition therefore communicates the frequent experience of a "brain crash" or "brain freeze" for individuals dealing with excessive amount of information.

For a year, I lived around the northern part of London’s Victoria Line—one of the loudest (if not the loudest) tube lines in the city. The noise regularly reached over 100 dB. My brain would constantly crash under such intensity, and Glitchopolis is largely inspired by that experience. It was mayhem! Thankfully, I’ve now moved away.
Beginning of the journey... A large part of Glitchopolis was composed at Spæs Lab, Berlin.
ZHAO JIAING 赵 嘉旌
Composer, Sound Designer, interdisciplinary Artist
jiajingzhao96(at)gmail(dot)com