BEAST invites artists, composers, performers, technologists, researchers, and creative practitioners to explore wildness in all its sonic ferality.
Wildness is often understood as that which escapes control. It may be found in untamed landscapes or hidden within urban infrastructure; in systems that exceed their creators' intentions; in collective action and acts of creative disruption; in unruly behaviours and emergent forms of life. Yet in an increasingly managed and mediated world, what does it mean to remain wild? What happens when sound is allowed to escape established categories, hierarchies, disciplines, technologies, and modes of listening? How can we rewild our music?
BEAST invites artists, composers, performers, technologists, researchers, and creative practitioners to explore wildness in all its sonic ferality. We welcome works that engage with ecological complexity, non-human worlds, undomesticated technologies, improvisation, uncertainty, resistance, transformation, and evolution.
We particularly encourage artists from historically underrepresented regions to apply, and welcome proposals involving diverse styles, including those that have not normally targeted systems like BEAST. We aim for diversity of music, background, and ethnicity, and are committed to [at least] 50% non-male representation.
Deadline 12:59 GMT, September 21st 2026
Works and performances of electronic music, sonic art, and mixed pieces (instruments and electronics) of any style are welcome. Stereo, ambisonic and multichannel works are all accepted. Works involving video or live performance are welcome. (Due to funding limitations, composers may need to provide their own instrumental performers if needed.) Only works of under 14 minutes in duration will be considered. Given space limitations, shorter works are more likely to be included.
Proposals for sound installations in various formats are invited. We will work with you to find a suitable site. For past editions, installations have been presented in our studios, in the Bramall mezzanine, and on the lawn outside the Bramall Building.
We invite proposals for talks of 20 minutes including Q&A. Topics related to the theme of local and global in electronic/electroacoustic music are prioritised, but off-topic submissions will be considered as well. Additionally, workshops of up to 1hr in duration can be proposed, again with a priority for proposals related to the festival theme. Please include a title, abstract, biography (in final, print-ready copy), and if necessary, a brief statement explaining how the talk fits the festival theme.
There is no submission fee. We expect artists selected to attend the festival. While due to the numbers involved, we cannot provide fees or guarantee travel funding, we are happy to support individual applications to external funders.
Professor of Composition and Electronic Music
Biographical and contact information for Professor Scott Wilson, Professor of Composition and Electronic Music at the University of Birmingham.
