Press room

KMRU & Nick Verstand: As Nature

Following its world premiere at Rewire 2026, the Barbican presents sound artist KMRU and visual artist Nick Verstand who bring their enchanting audiovisual collaboration, As Nature, to Milton Court Concert Hall. 

As Nature is an ongoing study on field recording spectra. Moving from tranquil silences to seismic tectonics, the works trace the extremes of sonic and natural processes through drones, noise, and mirage-like visuals. Field recordings blur between familiarity and abstraction, unfolding into emergent harmonics and interminable rhythms. The bristling ambient soundscapes of KMRU are responded to by Verstand through a wafting spectacle of lightweight fabrics manipulated through airflow, lasers, LEDs, and smoke. An olfactory component, developed in collaboration with scent artist Mareike Bode, further extends the sensory field, expanding the work beyond the visual and auditory. As Nature comes to life as a visceral and provoking glimpse into liminality and contrast. 

KMRU (Joseph Kamaru) is a Nairobi-born, Berlin-based sound artist working across field recording, experimental composition, installation, and performance. His work explores expanded listening practices, ecology, and sonic memory beyond conventional auditory frameworks. He has performed and exhibited internationally at venues including Berlin Atonal, CTM Festival, Barbican,Ars Electronica, and the Venice Architecture Biennale, and releases music on labels such as Editions Mego, Touch, and Subtext.

Nick Verstand is a contemporary artist researching human perception through spatial audiovisual compositions. His autonomous installations and live performances investigate the frontier between the material and the immaterial, and are created through collaborative design processes aimed at breaking down social boundaries. Nick has exhibited and performed at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (NL), The Shed (NYC), Rewire Festival (NL), Museum of Contemporary Art (Shanghai, CHN), National Opera & Ballet (NL) and many others, and has collaborated with the likes of Iris van Herpen, Björk, Caterina Barbieri, Lykke Li, Marie Davidson, Eefje de Visser, Charlotte Adigéry, Doja Cat, Kara-Lis Coverdale, Fatima Yamaha and Suzanne Ciani.

As Nature is commissioned by Rewire, Barbican, and Lunchmeat. 

Produced by the Barbican

Find out more

~

SUPPORT ACT ANNOUNCED:

Blonde Redhead featuring the Tiffin Youth Choir
+ Maddie Ashman

NYC rock outfit Blonde Redhead, the beloved trio of Kazu Makino and twin brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace, join forces with the Tiffin Youth Choir for a special performance at the Barbican in February 2026.

Described by The Guardian as “one of the very best in the US”, Blonde Redhead are a classic band in every sense. Not only renowned for their enduring sounds across dreampop, shoegaze and indie rock, they have also been instrumental in the framework of these genres since their rise through the 90s alternative music scene. Next year, they bring a new dimension to their work with a special Barbican performance featuring a live choral arrangement – for the first time in their career – in collaboration with the Tiffin Youth Choir, an internationally renowned boys' choir from Kingston, London.  

The forthcoming choral performance follows the band’s recent album The Shadow of the Guest (2025, section1) – a boundary pushing record that reimagines their widely acclaimed 2023 album, Sit Down for Dinner. Enlisting the Brooklyn Youth Chorus on record, the album offers newly expanded versions of multiple songs, including “Before (Choir Version),” a mariachi-inspired rendition of the Rick and Morty-featured internet hit “For The Damaged Coda,” and more. It is a surreal companion piece to Sit Down for Dinner exploring themes of innocence, nostalgia, and sonic curiosity. 

For the first time, fans of Blonde Redhead will experience the band’s latest album and more through considered choral arrangements performed live, offering a fresh and moving interpretation of their music. 

Support for the evening comes from composer and songwriter Maddie Ashman. Known for her expertise in microtonal music, Ashman is fascinated by the resonance and unlimited possibilities of just intonation (pure tuning). Fond of writing music that is genre-fluid, Ashman's music challenges the boundaries of instruments – the 'unspoken', 'what ifs' and 'unexpected'.

Blonde Redhead has partnered with PLUS1 to support War Child. €1.20/£1.20 from every ticket sold will help War Child to protect, educate, and stand up for the rights of children affected by war. www.warchild.org.uk 

Produced by the Barbican 

Find out more