about

I am a Brussels-based, Italian-born contemporary accordion player, sound practitioner, producer, and researcher with interest in participatory art methodologies, working at the intersections of art, social engagement, and climate justice.

I am engaged in a process of deconstruction and unlearning of the musical world and practices within which I was formed, critically examining their vertical hierarchies, self-referential tendencies, narcissism, and embedded power structures.

Through ecological listening, I seek to acknowledge and engage with cultural variation, exploring how each person experiences listening differently. This perspective brings to the surface questions of plurality, complexity, and the dynamics of privilege that shape our sonic encounters.

I developed a completely new instrument setup, the Poliarmonica, which helps me to re-position as a performer. It is made of (1) my accordion, which I hug since 30 years, (2) a set of analogue pedals and electronics tools which expands the sound and position it within a more current and vibrant sonic realm, all this in dialogue with (3) the field recordings from the community and the site I am living in. I see performance as only one of the steps to encourage mutual understanding.

I received a PhD in the Arts at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and I teach Music Technology at the Conservatory of Bruxelles. I also received a Bachelor’s degree in Italian Literature and I am a sound engineer leading BlowOutStudio.

My stakes on this path are concerts (Konzerthaus Wien, Harvard University, Berklee College of Music, Bayreuther Festspiele, Tokyo Opera City Hall, Mozarteum, Théâtre National de Strasbourg, Bozar, Teatro La Fenice), discs, lectures and the project “accordion4composers”.  

pictures by Zahra Helmipour, Stefano Giacomuzzi, and myself