The Studio
Saturday 20:00
Darkly beautiful, restless visuals, noise and soundscapes within a massive fog of sub bass, SCALD is the experimental alias of London-based Derek Szeto, pushes the boundaries of electronic music with his intense soundscapes and visual performances.
SCALD + Xenia Black present: The Black Room
SCALD (Derek Szeto)
SCALD is the experimental production and performance alias of London-based Derek Szeto, also known as Stormfield from Combat Recordings. Born out of dark rooms and intense soundscapes, SCALD pushes the boundaries of harmonic noise while maintaining a solid soundsystem discipline. The project blends fierce improvisation, distortion, gigantic sub-bass, and abstract technoid beat structures.
Szeto’s work as SCALD is deeply rooted in collaboration, working with live performers, vocalists, and instrumentalists to explore deeper, darker headspaces. His music seamlessly integrates live elements with intricate electronics, murky deep bass, and searing noise extremities.
SCALD’s debut album, “Scald Process,” was released on Berlin’s Holotone Music, featuring collaborations with artists such as Luxul, Liam Noonan, Eden Grey, and Marco Donnarumma. Szeto’s remix work includes a notable contribution for Mick Harris (ex-Napalm Death).
As a multi-faceted artist, Szeto also produces music under aliases like Stormfield and Fausten, occasionally collaborating with Quietus-supported artist UKAEA. His visual work is equally impressive, creating and performing visuals for SCALD and serving as the resident visual creator and tour VJ for artists such as Mick Harris, UKAEA, and African Head Charge. Szeto has contributed visual content for festivals including Katharsis (Amsterdam), Houghton Festival (UK), Bau! (Gijon), Mugako (Bilbao), and Ozora Festival (Hungary).
SCALD has graced notable stages and events, including:
- Sonic Bloom, Seoul, South Korea
- Gas Tower, Shangri-La, Glastonbury (performing 360 AV)
- Splice Festival, London
- Desonanze Festival, Macedonia
- Crux AV, London
- Futur. Shock Live, Fold, London
- Temporary Autonomous Art, London
Xenia Black
Xenia Black is a multidisciplinary artist based in London, whose work spans various forms of physical expression and visual art. As a trained ballerina and professional dance performer, Black brings a unique perspective to her craft. She is also an accomplished art director, surrealist painter, and poledance instructor.
Black’s approach to body expression is renowned for treading a fine line between grace and violence. Her work in poledance is particularly noteworthy, as she transforms and elevates the form beyond conventional perceptions. Black’s performances destroy notions of baseness and tawdry sexuality, instead reshaping poledance as a forceful ritual of empowerment that inspires awe, fear, and reverence in her audience.
SCALD + Xenia Black: A Powerful Collaboration
The collaboration between SCALD and Xenia Black was born from the creative crucible of London’s Fold, a queer-friendly techno hub known for fostering artistic connections. United by their shared appreciation for intense sonic and visual experiences, both artists found common ground in their desire to bring the visceral power of movement, fierce sound, and striking visual production to wider, more esoteric audiences.
Their partnership for CRUX Festival represents a unique fusion of SCALD’s boundary-pushing audio-visual experiments and Black’s transformative approach to dance and physical expression. This collaboration promises to deliver a multi-sensory experience that challenges perceptions and pushes the boundaries of performance art.
By combining SCALD’s mastery of sound design and visual manipulation with Black’s captivating and empowering dance performances, the duo creates a synergy that is both thought-provoking and deeply immersive. Their work together embodies the spirit of contemporary experimental art, blending elements of electronic music, avant-garde dance, and cutting-edge visual design into a cohesive and powerful artistic statement.
As they prepare to showcase their collaborative work at CRUX Festival, SCALD and Xenia Black stand poised to offer audiences a truly unique and transformative experience that bridges the gap between the raw energy of underground rave culture and the conceptual depth of performance art.
