Maria W Horn (SE) is a composer whose work takes up the spectral properties of sound, combining acoustic and synthetic instruments to expand timbre and texture. She often draws on site-specific acoustics, using the resonances of buildings, objects, or landscapes to shape intricate harmonic structures. Her live performances are at once monumental and deeply intimate. She is also a co-founder of the record label XKatedral. Horn’s albums include Kontrapoetik (2018), examining her home region of Ångermanland; Vita Duvans Lament (2020), inspired by Sweden’s only panoptic cell prison; and Dies Irae (2021), composed from the frequencies of an empty mining hall.

Photo credit: Jean-Baptiste Garcia