The American Academy in Rome and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia present Soundscapes, an evening of contemporary music performances by Italian and American DJs/musicians/producers, bringing life to the front pavilions of the McKim, Mead & White Building. The event begins at 6:00pm and ends at midnight.

The Grammy Award–winning composer and 2004 Rome Prize Fellow, Mason Bates, returns to Rome to witness the Italian premiere of his Piano Concerto by the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia on May 9, and to celebrate his time at the Academy in an evening that will showcase his talents as a DJ.

Bates will perform alongside prominent voices from the contemporary Italian music scene, and together they will unleash a progression of sonic explorations that unfolds within a wide spectrum of electronica genres, ranging from ambient and experimental to dance, dubstep, and techno. From familiar beats to new sounds of the diasporas and disruptive rhythms, the resonance among the front pavilions will highlight the ephemeral materiality and profound encounters between the community at the American Academy and the city of Rome.

Performers include Mason Bates (2004 Fellow; San Francisco, USA), Ehua (London, UK); Mary Gehnyei (Rome, Italy), Palm Wine (2019 Italian Fellow; Milan, Italy), and Polysick (Rome, Italy).

About the Artists

Ehua is a London-based, Italian-Ivorian artist, producer, and DJ. She debuted with the release of her EP Diplozoon in 2018. Since then, she has performed at many iconic clubs and festivals and holds a bimonthly residency at Rinse FM in London, where she explores percussion-influenced sonic realms across a wide range of tempos. Her recent releases include Clouds EP (3024); Aquamarine (Nervous Horizon), an EP inspired by the color and motion of water; Giada, a single part of Fabric Records’ V/A Fabric Selects II; and a remix of Complain from Deena Abdelwahed’s highly acclaimed new LP, Jbal Rrsas. Ehua also has a life-long interest in the arts, which she cultivates as a means of self-expression within her practice. She has composed soundtracks for short films and artistic performances.

The magical intersection between music and technology is a central tenet of Mason Bates’s work, from his Grammy-winning opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs to his work as a composer, DJ, and curator. During his term as the first composer in residence at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, he presented a diverse array of artists through his KC Jukebox using immersive production and stagecraft. His works and his curation are imaginatively transforming the way classical music is both created and experienced. Championed by legendary conductors from Riccardo Muti to Marin Alsop, his symphonic music is the first to receive widespread acceptance for its unique integration of electronic sounds. Mason Bates was a Fellow in musical composition at the American Academy in Rome in 2004.

Mary Gehnyei is a DJ with an interesting and eclectic musical background, converging various influences from hip hop to Detroit techno. She has opened for DJs such as Andrew Weatherall and K-Hand. Her sets have been hosted in many contemporary art venues in Italy, such as Macro Museum (Rome), Swiss Institute (Rome), and Centro Pecci (Prato).

Palm Wine is a project by Simone Bertuzzi (2019 Italian Fellow), which originally started as a blog in 2009. As an artist, since 2003 he has been part of Invernomuto, a duo operating in the fields of visual art and cross-disciplinary practices. As a DJ, he spins warm and border-crossing tunes; his sets travel between past, present, and the future.

Polysick is a Roman artist who has been active since 2010 in the field of electronic music in all its facets and variants, from soundtracks to ambient, from languid rhythms of downtempo to brand and dance floor-oriented styles. His records have been released on Planet Mu and Not Not Fun, as well as on Moamoo and Strange Life Records. His latest projects include the collection of imaginary library music Flora and Fauna released on Edizioni Mondo and the concept tape Sleep Driving published by Union Editions.