A musician, composer, and audio engineer based in Berlin, Davis works with the interplay of technological limitation, algorithmic processes, and human expression as both subject and method. Performing under her own name and the alias Wilted Woman, her practice resists easy categorisation, drawing equally from musique concrète, radio drama, harsh noise, and 20th-century dance music.

During her residency from 16–19 September 2025, Davis will develop a new work for the Listening Room programme of the Sonic Acts Biennial 2026. The piece centres on the calls of the black-legged kittiwake, a seabird she became captivated by during a recent stay in Tromsø, Norway. Although regarded as a nuisance in the city, the endangered birds sparked an obsessive daily practice of watching and recording. Rather than relying on these field recordings directly, Davis seeks to synthesise and reimagine the sonic world of the kittiwake. The work builds on her recent explorations with duck-call whistles, whose overblown tones closely resemble the bird’s cry.

About the Spatial Sound Residency

The Spatial Sound Residency is a new initiative by Sonic Acts that supports artists in developing multichannel sound works through dedicated time, technical resources, and curatorial dialogue. Based at the Spatial Sound Studio in Rotterdam, the residency offers a flexible framework for experimentation, inviting artists to rethink spatial audio beyond fixed formats and conventional staging. Residents have access to high-spec tools, including both 8.1 and Dolby Atmos systems, facilitating a focus on process, research, and critical listening. Developed as part of a trajectory leading up to the 2026 Biennial, the residency continues Sonic Acts’ long-standing commitment to spatial sound as a site of artistic inquiry and audience engagement.

The Spatial Sound Residency is supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL, Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Cultuurloket DigitALL, Mondriaan Fund, and is part of New Perspectives for Action, a project by Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the European Union.