Janek Schaefer (born 1970) is a British avant-garde artist, musician, composer, and entertainer, known for performing and exhibiting his work around the world with

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

and

installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...

. Schaefer has released 36 albums, runs Lucky Dip Disco, and his own label, audiOh! Recordings.

Life and career

Schaefer was born in England to Polish and Canadian parents. While studying architecture at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

(RCA), Schaefer recorded the fragmented noises of a sound-activated dictaphone travelling overnight through the Post Office. The resulting work, "Recorded Delivery" was made for the 'Self Storage' exhibition ''Time Out'' critics choice with former postman

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

, and

Artangel Artangel is a London-based arts organisation founded in 1985 by Roger Took. Directed since 1991 by James Lingwood and Michael Morris, it has commissioned and produced a string of notable site-specific works, plus several projects for TV, film, r ...

. After graduating from the RCA, Schaefer invented the Tri-phonic Turntable in 1997, to create new music from discarded media, and began performing and touring live. The turntable is listed in the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as the "World's Most Versatile Record Player". Schaefer has performed, lectured, and exhibited in 30 countries throughout Europe (Sonar, Tate Modern, ICA), USA & Canada (The Walker, XI, Mutek, FIMAV, Princeton), and toured across Japan and Australia including a performance at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

in 2003. His debut reverse play LP "His Masters Voices" was released in 1997 on his audiOh! Recordings label. His first studio CD ''Above Buildings'' (2000) was released on Fat Cat and was CD of the week in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. He has collaborated on albums with

Philip Jeck Philip Jeck (1952 – 25 March 2022) was an English composer and multimedia artist. His compositions were noted for utilising antique turntables and vinyl records, along with looping devices and both analogue and digital effects. Initially com ...

(''Songs for Europe''), Robert Hampson (''Comae''), Stephan Mathieu (''Hidden Name''),

Charlemagne Palestine Chaim Moshe Tzadik Palestine (born 1947), known professionally as Charlemagne Palestine, is an American visual artist and musician. He has been described as being one of the founders of New York school of minimalist music, first initiated by La ...

(''Day of the Demons''), and

William Basinski William Basinski (born June 25, 1958) is an American avant-garde composer Avant-garde music is music that is considered to be at the forefront of innovation in its field, with the term "avant-garde" implying a critique of existing aesthetic c ...

(''... on reflection''). Schaefer is a visiting professor in sound art at several universities. In 2008, using prize money from the Paul Hamlyn Award, he set up the Lucky Dip Disco. In 2009, the Bluecoat gallery in Liverpool mounted a retrospective exhibition of his career to date. He lives and works in

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

with two children.

Awards

* 1991: Royal Institute of British Architects, Photography Prize for ‘Neighbours’. * 1996: Royal College of Art Old Student Award portfolio prize. * 2002: McKnight Composer in Residence,

American Composers Forum The American Composers Forum is an American organization that works for the promotion and assistance of American composers and contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1973 as the Minnesota Composers Forum and is based in Saint Paul, Minn ...

* 2004: Award of Distinction at

Prix Ars Electronica The Prix Ars Electronica is one of the best known and longest running yearly prizes in the field of electronic and interactive art, computer animation, digital culture and music. It has been awarded since 1987 by Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria) ...

, Austria, for random playing LP ''Skate'' * 2008: British Composer of the Year in Sonic Art Award, for "Extended Play" (triptych for the child survivors of war and conflict). * 2008: Paul Hamlyn Award for Composers prize. * 2020: UK 'Best Mobile DJ' Award at the Event Entertainment Awards

References

External links

Official website
* Music & Art live Archive
audiOh! Room : Janek Schaefer
* foundsoundscape
( ( ( foundsoundscape ) ) ) : created & curated by Janek Schaefer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaefer, Janek 1970 births British sound artists Alumni of the Royal College of Art Living people English composers English people of Polish descent English people of Canadian descent